In our experience at Trent College and The Elms, the benefits that school trips bring to your child’s unique learning journey make them an essential part of any all-round education.
This blog focuses on the positive impact that trips have on our infant and junior pupils, but we strongly believe excursions can enhance the learning experience at every stage of education, from visits to the park in reception right through to expeditions and tours abroad in your child’s GCSE and A Level years.
Let’s take a look at how school trips help your child go further in school.
1. They increase independence and confidence
We introduce annual residential trips at The Elms in Year 3, with the time pupils spend away from home gradually increasing from 3 days to a week in Year 6. For some of our pupils, these overnight trips are their first real taste of independence. Experiencing this independence in a safe and positive environment will boost your child’s self-confidence. Residentials are essential for personal and social development, allowing new friendships to bloom and new challenges to be faced.
2. They take your child out of their comfort zone
Experiences that take your child out of their comfort zone are essential for personal growth and developing an appetite for trying new things. “Day trips and residential trips enable our pupils to enjoy experiences that cannot be replicated in the classroom environment,” Liz Barclay, Deputy Head at The Elms, explains. “A bustling, busy city, the ambience of the large open spaces of a cathedral or the excitement and power of a live London show.”
3. They contribute to a wider world perspective
With each school trip, your child ventures into undiscovered territory and as their life experience grows, so does their perspective on the world we live in.
Our pupils enjoy trips as far afield as the Isle of Wight, but trips nearer to home have just as much potential to teach valuable lessons. As part of our ‘superhero’ topic in reception last year, pupils travelled to Long Eaton Post Office so they could witness our postal service in action. Not only did they gain an understanding of Post Office logistics, the children came away with newfound appreciation for its workers and the important service they provide.
4. They are a great way to learn and remember information
School trips transport education to a new and exciting location. A change to the routine of a school timetable, trips are always memorable and therefore make effective learning tools. As your child thinks back on the fun they had at the Civil War Museum, they may also recall the differences between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers or remember that the English Civil War was actually three wars rather than one.
5. They make a classroom topic feel new and exciting
A well-chosen trip has the power to breathe new life into a classroom topic. Activities and interactive tasks add an element of excitement to learning, which are especially effective in engaging visual or hands-on learners. Trips support and enhance the curriculum, whilst providing new perspectives and wider context for your child to think about.
6. They teach your child new skills
Some lessons in life cannot be taught in class. Trips are an opportunity for your child to conquer challenges outside the classroom setting, where a different set of skills is required. The imagination to picture yourself in a different era, the map-reading skills to navigate an orienteering course or the courage to take on the high ropes!
Mrs Barclay says, “A school trip allows your child to take risks in a controlled environment, which adds to those vital life skills that will shape them into successful adults of the future.”