On GCSE Results Day, Halsbury Travel Examines How School Trips Can Help Inform Students' Choices On Their Next Step
(PRWEB UK) 20 August 2015 -- A recent survey by website NotGoingtoUni (which advises students on post-16 options other than university) showed that, worryingly, a quarter of respondents had ‘no idea’ what they wanted to do after they finished compulsory education. The website surveyed over 80,000 15 to 18-year-olds over the course of 15 months. The results are of concern as the decisions taken at this time in a young person’s life can have huge implications for the rest of their lives, and so it is important that students are fully informed on the paths they can take and the opportunities that are open to them.
Carefully considered, well-organised school trips are, of course, a fantastic way to bring a subject to life for students. Often, memorable school trips can spark a passion for the subject in a young person, providing them with the drive to succeed. At the very least, they often contextualise what the students learn in the classroom, allowing them to relate their studies to the ‘real’ world.
However, school trips can provide other benefits for students that are less closely related to their schoolwork. Take, for example, school trips such as those organised by leading school tour operator, Halsbury Travel. On a tailor-made Halsbury school trip, students enjoy a number of curriculum-based activities, which often include visits to local businesses or companies where students can witness the subject ‘in action’.
For example, maths students may visit the Deutsche Bank headquarters on a school maths trip to Frankfurt, while fashion students can visit the workshop of a hat designer in Paris. French students can enjoy a trip to Strasbourg, where visits to various European institutions will show them that their language skills can open the door to a career in politics or diplomacy, whilst science students can enjoy a trip to Geneva, where a visit to CERN will give them a better idea of the number of opportunities that science can open up for them.
Students may not encounter the specific career that they wish to follow on a school trip. However, what a school trip can do is demonstrate to them that there are a variety of options for them to investigate that are related to their favourite subject. This, for many, could provide the impetus to begin thinking about the kinds of things they might like to do and could push them to start researching their options.
As a teenager, it is difficult to think about the future, as this is a time when many live firmly in the present. But an exciting school trip which gives them a broader idea of the options open to them could be the encouragement they need to start thinking earlier about their ultimate goal and how to set about achieving it, thereby leaving less in the difficult position of reaching the end of compulsory education and not having any idea of what they may wish to do.
Halsbury Travel was founded in 1986 by former French teacher Keith Sharkey, who passionately believes in the educational value of school travel. Still independently owned, Halsbury Travel is a family-run business with two generations of the Sharkey family now working for the company, supported by a dynamic team consisting of former teachers and school travel specialists. Family values are core to the business, with honest advice and quality of service key to what makes Halsbury Travel unique in the school travel market.
Katie Sharkey, Halsbury Travel Ltd., http://tours4sport.com/, +44 115 9404 303, [email protected]
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