School trips have always represented a welcome break for kids up and down the country, but the fact is that they contribute a lot to education as well. This is purely because they are something a little bit different and kids tend to remember what happens on school trips better than they remember what happens in the classroom.
Engagement
Education is primarily about engagement. The more engaged a group of children are during a particular session, the more they are likely to take from it and they will relate what they learn in the future to that very session time and time again. This is why so many schools focus their agenda on the most important elements of each subject when it comes to planning trips.
Who doesn't remember their favourite school trip as a child? They come in all sorts of different guises but they are all memorable in their own way. Certainly a lot of that has to do with the fact that they usually involve pairing up and piling on the bus or whatever transport the school has arranged and this can be a lot of fun.
A break from the norm
However, it is also about getting to grips with a subject and getting some instruction in a different environment. This even goes for some of the school trips that on the face of it just don't sound like much fun at all. For instance, lots of school curriculums involve such riveting experiences as trips to motorways and other local establishments that aren't likely to set anyone's imagination alight.
Nevertheless, they are still a break from the norm and children still respond in a positive way. Then there are the school trips that truly stand out. Some take place in the UK and focus on geography, biology and geology; others take place abroad and focus on art, history and languages.
The kids that get the chance to get involved in these particularly special trips always come back with fond memories and more often than not a greatly advanced understanding of the topics that have been under scrutiny over the course of the trip - something that is never dulled by the hours on the road sleeping, singing, playing games and doing something else really important: developing closer relationships with their peers and getting to know one another better.
This is a really powerful aspect of school trips because kids often learn as much from one another as they do from the dedicated educators around them. That's why school trips will also play a vital role in the social development of children as well as their educational advancement.
