At KS4, there has been a gradually burgeoning number of types of educational visits – foreign language school exchanges, cultural visits all over Europe and further afield, sports competitions, youth conferences, winter sports and adventurous activities in more extreme environments. The Duke of Edinburgh Award becomes available at 14 years old and continues to be offered for those up to 24 years of age, and pupils of many ages start work on specialist awards in areas such as mountaineering, sailing and river sports. This increase in venue variety has led to a proliferation of specialist companies catering for these activities.
The aims of history trips tend to be more focused in KS4, with study trips to the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation and the 1944 Normandy Landings often proving popular along with the 1815 Waterloo battlefield. Venues of this type are often catered for by specialist travel companies to ensure participants get the best experience available.
A lot of schools have a tradition of school trips with their choirs, orchestras and musical/theatre students. There are specialist companies that can help any school wishing to explore this possibility, and many venues have tailored activities for groups that can help improve performers’ confidence and motivation.
British schools have been the forerunners in Europe for undertaking challenging outdoor activities both at home and abroad (you can visit here for good list of activities and gateway sites) but there is a notable increase of interest at KS4 in science-based trips – most notably the Science and National History museums in London, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Railway Museum in York, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre in Macclesfield, Techniquest in Cardiff, and the Bristol Science Centre, all of which have reported an increase in visitors in recent years.
At 250 metres above street level, Sydney Tower Eye is the highest point in Sydney - perfect for finding your bearings or just taking it all in.
Sydney Tower Eye is the perfect place to start your Sydney adventure. With views stretching out as far as the eye can see in all directions, there's no better place to find your bearings.
Gardaland Park is the Number 1 Amusement Park in Italy, the one with the longest history and one of the most important ones at a European Level.
The 112 acres of Kenwood is on the crest of one of the most popular open spaces in the capital, Hampstead Heath. In contrast to the natural Heath, the park around Kenwood is very much a designed landscape in an English style.
Set on the edge of Hampstead Heath and surrounded by tranquil landscaped gardens, Kenwood is one of London's hidden gems.
The National Space Centre is the United Kingdom's leading visitor attraction that is devoted to space science and astronomy.
The Centre has on display one of the only known Soyuz spacecraft in Western Europe. It also encompasses the Sir Patrick Moore Planetarium.
Our wide range of talks and workshops are curriculum-linked and suit ages from early years to college levels. Enjoy an exciting and educational visit, coming face-to-face with exotic animals and artefacts in our Education Centre.
On the summit of Oldbury Hill, commanding a powerfully defensive position, is one of the finest Iron Age hill forts in the Medway, with substantial earth ramparts 2 miles in length. Ancient woodland, scrub and relic heathland disguise its complete outline.
This accredited museum is supported by the Friends of Windsor & Royal Borough Museum, the Heritage Lottery Fund and a team of very enthusiastic volunteers.
The Museum covers five themes; The Royal Borough & its settlement, Military Associations, Aeronautical Windsor, Working Windsor and Childhood.
A riding school offering lessons and great hacks, with a choice of over 50 horses, plus ponies for children. Suitable for all levels of ability. Regular fun rides held throughout the year.
A wildlife habitat offering many outdoor and leisure activities, such as adventure playgrounds, fishing, bird watching, sailing and cycling.
Staunton Harold is a wildlife habitat offering many outdoor and leisure activities, such as adventure playgrounds, fishing, bird watching, sailing and cycling, as well as countryside walks for those who want to explore the region.
The world’s first iron bridge was erected over the River Severn here in 1779. Britain’s best-known industrial monument, the bridge gave its name to the spectacular wooded gorge which, though now tranquil, was once an industrial powerhouse and the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. Ironbridge Gorge is now a World Heritage Site.
School Adventures at Chessington
Home to the renowned Strumpshaw Steam Rally, the museum houses a nostalgic collection of traction engines, steam rollers, tractors and beam engines.
There’s also a Christie cinema organ and fairground organs and you can take a countryside walk or a trip on the narrow gauge railway to explore the grounds of the old hall.
As soon as you think about the Isle of Wight, the iconic image of the world famous Needles Park chairlift immediately springs to mind, transporting guests from the cliff-top above Alum Bay down to the beach below. So, grab a bird’s eye view of the multi-coloured sand cliffs of Alum Bay and the stunning turquoise waters that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Thomas Bewick is perhaps Northumberland’s greatest artist: a wood engraver and naturalist who revolutionised print art in Georgian England.
Travel back in time and discover the history of the Potteries and of Staffordshire.
See the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found on display, plus the world's finest collection of Staffordshire ceramics, Reginald Mitchell's WW2 Spitfire, Ozzy the famous pottery owl and all sorts of art and craft.
Exmouth Museum was first opened in 1985 and is housed in a 19th century building which was the Council Stables together with the adjoining foreman's cottage.
Teignmouth and Shaldon are beautiful. They are not, however, just pretty places! Products of a turbulent past and the strivings of succeeding generations, Teignmouth and Shaldon have colourful and absorbing stories to tell. The stories are told in the Museum - what happened, when and who the players were.
Maryport Maritime Museum is ideally situated at the quayside in the beautiful and historic town of Maryport.
The museum occupies the building formally known as The Queen's Head public house which entertained and boarded a great many sailors between their voyages on the high seas.
The architect Sir John Soane’s house, museum and library at No. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields has been a public museum since the early 19th century. Soane demolished and rebuilt three houses in succession on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields, beginning with No. 12 between 1792 and 1794, moving on to No. 13, re-built in two phases in 1808-9 and 1812, and concluding with No.
THIS HISTORIC MILL, HOME TO THE JORDAN FAMILY FOR OVER 150 YEARS, WAS REVOLUTIONARY FOR ITS TIME AND COULD BE COMPARED WITH THE DAWN OF THE INTERNET AGE TODAY…
Part of Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site, this is the only Cornish beam engine anywhere in the world that is still in steam on its original mine site.
The famous Levant engine is housed in a small engine house perched on the edge of the cliffs.
This outstanding area of limestone pavements, upland hill farms and flower-rich hay meadows provides a marvellous setting for walking, cycling or just enjoying the great outdoors.
The National Nature Reserve is home to a unique community of rare plants and animals - the bird hide in particular is worth a visit.
Learning
Stunning woodcarving and elaborate panelling made this wealthy merchant's house a medieval des res built to impress.
Built around 1500 for Thomas Paycocke, the house is a grand example of the wealth generated in East Anglia by the cloth trade in the 16th century.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.