Oct
17
Written by:
costcutters
17/10/2011 10:30
For some teachers, a school trip is a massive headache. The paper work involved can be horrendous including risk assessments covering every minute of the day; rising fuel prices and other costs can make contributions from parents excessive and school administrators may balk at having to fork out for extra supply teachers to cover you while you go off on a “jolly”. What’s more the modular nature of exams and the growing pressure on exam results reduces the times when school trips are even feasible.
For most though, school trips are an essential part of a rounded school experience, and without them the children’s education would be stunted by the walls they sit between and school desks the sit at. School trips are on the decline in the UK overall and this is rarely ever the teachers fault. It often all comes down to money.
Aren’t there cheaper alternatives?
Why yes there are!
A school trip does not need to take 100 pupils abroad. It doesn’t need to involve tons of venues or risky activities involving crash helmets and water. Often the best school trips can take place within a few miles of your school gates. For example:
The Beach
As we are an island, most parts of the UK are within a few hours of a beach. Depending on the age group a trip to the beach can be an active sporting trip for fun including wide games and scavenger hunts; it could involve collecting items in order to draw them back in arts and crafts for kids or to draw them right there on the beach.
This trip is particularly great because it is easy to manage as you have less chance of losing sight of kids than you would in a busier destination and therefore fewer teachers are needed to keep track of everyone.
The Cinema
While it may seem more educational to take kids to the theatre for a proper educational trip, the cinema is just as good and often cheaper and easier to organise…as long as you choose an appropriate film of course. In fact many cinemas will allow you to select the film if it is during the day, allowing you to fit this trip into your English, drama or perhaps even maths class.
These are just two examples but as you can see, a school trip does not need to be to Rio de Janeiro or Antarctica to have an impact on students. The important thing is they get away from the school and are offered a lesson or two from a different angle.
What’s the best school trip you have been on that didn’t cost a bomb?
Tags: