See what difference school trips and education tours can make to your students' learning

Trips are an important and often neglected part of school life. They can offer students a whole new type of learning that they cannot experience in the classroom, and can be extremely beneficial to a young person's education. rnSchool trips allow students to experience the subject they are learning about on a whole new level. Not only will a school trip which is linked to what they are learning in class a lot more memorable, as it will provide them with real experiences that they can relate back to the subject, but it will also allow all the students in a class a fair chance at learning. Not every student learns in the same way – some learn better by listening, and some learn better by doing. The latter students will be able to learn in a way that suits them best.

rnOne main benefit of school trips is that they give students something to look forward to. Spending five days a week in a classroom can often seem like a gloomy thought to a young person, especially a child, and the knowledge that a school trip is approaching may give them the extra bit of motivation they need. Another benefit is that it can give teachers a chance to really get to know their students, and see how each one likes to learn. Many teachers have returned to school after a trip with new ideas of how to approach their students in the classroom, making the lessons more interesting for them.

rnSchool trips are also an important part of building up a student's independence. In the classroom they are forced to learn from textbooks and to listen to what their teacher has to say, but they rarely get the chance to discover things on their own. School trips give them the chance the explore and learn new things independently, and to be taught by somebody other than their teacher.

rnTrips are particularly good for languages. For example, French school trips, particularly immersion trips, will allows students to become completely surrounded by the French language and culture. In an English speaking classroom, students will usually resort to speaking in English to their friends and teachers, whilst French school trips will provide them with a setting where speaking French is compulsory, allowing and encouraging them to practise the language.

rnTrips are available for all subjects, and many places will provide education tours which can be altered to fit in with what they are learning about in class. History and science museums, art galleries, theatres, historical and geographical landmarks, and even factories, are all places that often provide education tours. This means school trips are not hard to find, and since they are such a beneficial part of school life, it seems unreasonable not to allow students the pleasure of exploring outside of the classroom.