School Trips change students’ lives (and teachers’ too)
These are the moments that make all the stress worth it
- by Teachwire
Our panel of teachers share their most memorable moments from school trips...
Risk taker
Max was a child with low self esteem and no real motivation to be at school. He would have rather played on his PlayStation all day at home and school hadn’t been a great journey for him. I noticed a stark difference during our residential.
In school he rarely brought his PE kit and wasn’t very sporty, but on the trip I saw a different child – one who wanted to try different activities such as climbing and abseiling.
These activities took him out of his comfort zone and challenged him to take a risk. He demonstrated abilities that I hadn’t seen in the classroom. He was more confident and resilient; qualities that I had been encouraging all year.
Throughout the weekend he constantly pushed and challenged himself, overcoming barriers that other kids might have taken for granted. Back at school, Max was a different child, showing the skills he learnt in those challenging environments.
Damith Bandara
Assistant head
Something to shout about
My autistic pupil threw himself into everything offered with gusto and enthusiasm. I screamed myself hoarse encouraging him, and sobbed uncontrollable tears of joy to watch him attack everything with such confidence.
Amanda Barry
Teaching assistant
White lies
One child suffered extreme anxiety about being away from home. On the first day he repeatedly asked me to phone his parents to pick him up. By midnight we agreed they would be asleep and I would ring them the next day.
When the same thing happened the next night, I said the Severn Bridge was shut due to bad weather. I was in touch with his parents throughout, but we kept focused on helping him overcome his anxieties.
On night three I was floored when he said, “Tell Mum and Dad that I miss them but I want to stay.” When we returned, the child joined the Scouts and had sleepovers with friends.
He went on to do his Duke of Edinburgh award and travelled solo around Asia and Australia following his A-levels.
Marc Bowen
Deputy head
One of us
I have observed extremely nervous children being physically put on the bus by their parents at the start of a residential experience, then watched them become confident, happy individuals who didn’t want the trip to end.
This vastly improved confidence and maturity is always pleasing to see. Once the children return, parents often comment that they have grown up.
I’ve also witnessed children who may have been unpopular due to perceived ‘strange’ behaviour become more accepted and eventually become an intrinsic part of the cohort.
Jonathan Bailey
Assistant head
Fuss free
The children always eat food they wouldn’t normally touch. Fussiness seems to disappear after a full day outside climbing, abseiling or orienteering.
All of a sudden, the child whose parents said, ‘They will only eat this, this and that’ is wolfing down platefuls of all sorts of strange combinations.
Ed Seeley
Headteacher
Duck to water
We took 60 Y6 children on a two-night residential that involved raft building, sailing and team building games. One boy, who had very specific needs and usually worked with a TA one-to-one in the classroom, slowly climbed into a two-man sailing boat with a peer.
At first it looked like he was going to get straight back out. “I don’t like this, it’s rocking too much”, he said. However, after calm one-to-one coaching from the instructors, he was sailing with great confidence.
By the end of the session he was performing perfect turns and winning all the races. When he got out the boat he was beaming and for the last month of term, he was calm, confident and trouble-free.
James Taylor
Assistant head and Y6 teacher
Rabbit surprise
A boy from Thailand joined our school with virtually no English. While he was initially welcomed by the other children, the language barrier meant it was a struggle for him to make meaningful friendships.
We set off on our residential trip hoping it would help him bond with others but we weren’t prepared for what was to come. During one of our ‘wild cooking’ afternoons, the children were getting a demonstration in how to skin a rabbit. Suddenly, our Thai student pushed the guide aside and demonstrated perfectly how to skin, quarter and prepare a rabbit – he was quite the expert!
The children (and staff!) were amazed by this hidden talent and he went on to win our ‘camp champ’ trophy.
Hannah Duffy
Y6 teacher
Overcoming fears
A Y5 week away in the Peak District provided an opportunity for an otherwise introverted child with Asperger’s Syndrome to discover a newfound confidence and ability to overcome his fears.
Our week at Edale YHA included weaselling, rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing and night hikes. More than any other pupil, this particular child thrived in an arena completely unfamiliar yet delightfully instinctive.
The time away from the school classroom had an undeniably positive effect and changed his mindset towards his strengths as an individual, as his persistence, enjoyment and consequent achievement facilitated the defeat of his fears. The self-realisation of such was marvellous.
James Hodgkins
Head of assessment
And here are some of your best trip memories…
@beetlemags
I was making a 360° turn in a canoe with two Y6s when the instructor said, ‘Look at the bridge.’ We did, and ended up in the canal
@rachaelmiley
Thinking it was only a small rock pool on the beach, a child jumped in up to his waist
@pilgrim_bev
Walking in front of Y4 children after canoeing in a lovely helmet, I heard them say, ‘Look at the state of her hair!’
@bettyblue37degr
Getting to the highest point in a fell walk and looking at the amazing view, a Y6 boy said, ‘I just feel so free’
@jowinchester
Our deputy head got on the wrong school coach at the ferry terminal and didn’t notice until after he used the microphone to ask the kids to sit down
@janetteww
Finding one my pupils outside my door at two in the morning, sleepwalking while wrapped up in his duvet
@mrjhodgkins
A colleague, in front of our Year 5 children, getting stuck while weaselling
@mr_j_education
I took my Y6 class to PGL and told them that they could conquer their fears. I climbed a 12ft pole, burst into tears and was saved by an 11 year old boy
@msscrump
I was asleep in my tent when a Y4 child screamed ‘Emergency!’. I jumped straight up, stumbled across rocky terrain, ran through spiders’ webs and dived into their tent. A glow stick had exploded and there were luminous handprints everywhere.
