EVC Magazine Autumn 2025_digital - Flipbook - Page 46
Advertorial
WHAT MAKES A SCHOOL TRIP
THE BEST (OR WORST!)
EXPERIENCE?
Ask any teacher about educational visits and you’ll usually get two types of story:
the magical “best trip ever” moments and the chaotic “never again” nightmares.
Last summer, 2,935 Teacher Tappers told us about both.
Alongside discovering that 10% of responses mentioned vomit or sick, we also
found some useful lessons for planning a trip to remember.
1. GET THE STAFF TEAM RIGHT
Your visits live or die on staff dynamics. The
best visits happen when colleagues work well
together and share the load. One remembered
Disneyland Paris where “all the staff were
close friends” while another fondly described
“Barnstondale where the staff had a laugh”.
The low points? “Three inexperienced members
of staff who did not help at all” or being left
alone with “50 children while others went off
to watch sport”. Relief comes when external
providers are involved: “There were enough staff
to give us breaks every now and then so I could
go for a run along the cliffs or just chill.”
2. PLAN FOR STUDENT ‘FIRSTS’
The most rewarding visits are those where
pupils experience something new: “Many of
my Reception children had never been to the
sea before – pure awe and wonder!”
Adventure experiences also shine: “Seeing
them on the zip wire or canal was amazing
– the quieter children really came out of
themselves.” Academic visits can be equally
powerful, like pupils making a TikTok in WWI
trenches: “They weren’t the most academic,
but it showed real engagement.”
WOULD YOU RATHER…
Go on a five-day
trip to EuroDisney
with 60 students
Cover a full
week of other
teachers' lessons
74%
26%
Question answered by 4,728 teachers on 04/08/2025 (results
weighted to reflect national teacher and school demographics).
3. NAIL THE LOGISTICS
Nothing derails a visit faster than missed coaches
or lost passports. Teachers recalled being “stranded
for four hours after the coach driver ran out of
hours” or dealing with “a stolen bag containing the
group passport”. Illness was another nightmare:
“The coach became a chunder fest! Once one
went, several others did, too.”
4. SAFEGUARDING ALWAYS COMES FIRST
Lost children are every teacher’s fear—“a child
missing in Disneyland Paris” or “lost in New
York for three hours”. Drugs, alcohol and more
serious safeguarding breaches were also
reported, reinforcing the need for constant
vigilance and headcounts.
With the right preparation, school trips can be transformative – for students
and teachers. Want more insights like this? Download Teacher Tapp today
and see what thousands of teachers are thinking.
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