Seasonal Outdoor Education
Low Season & Off Peak Savings
Does your school always run their residential trip between the SATs and the end of the summer term? The weather is reliable and a week away from school may have less impact on the timetable at this time of year, but you will pay a premium! Most activity centres could sell May, June and July many times over as this is when the vast majority of schools run their activity weeks. If you are able to look at other times during the year, you will have a wider choice of venues and the cost of your trip is likely to be significantly lower. The venues below are just a sample of the types of savings you can make on your outdoor education residential. Use the purple form below to let us know about your trip and we will help you get the best prices. Or visit our residential school trips page to search by location.
Why should you consider other times of year?
Helping schools organise their outdoor education experiences, we are increasingly aware of how many schools are restricted in what they can offer their pupils because of funding. Whether the schools are unable to contribute to the cost because of cuts to budgets, or they are severely limited on how much they can expect parents to pay, prohibitive costs can prevent trips from taking place and is the main reason children are unable to take part in an outdoor education experience.
What some schools may not realise is how much the cost is affected by the time they are looking to travel. In the same way you will pay a lot more for your villa in the Algarve during August when the owner could let out the property many times over, if you get in early enough to book a week at a residential centre in early July, they price you will be asked for will be significantly more than if you were to try to book the same trip in April or October.
Being flexible with the dates of your outdoor education experience is a great way to bring down the average cost per pupil. We have included some examples of savings below, but ask us about any outdoor education trip and we'll help you get the best price for your group.
Lockerbie Manor
Scotland 
Physical Education, Watersports
Lockerbie Manor offer outdoor residential school trips during term time, and all inclusive family activity holidays during the summer holidays. Activities take place in the extensive Manor house grounds or at
Encompass Training
South West Accommodation Only, Geography, Physical Geography, Physical Education, Watersports
Nestled in the heart of rural Devon, Encompass Training is located at the historic Grade I Great Potheridge House. We specialize in offering sole occupancy, a diverse range of high-quality outdoor education activities, delivered by experienced staff
Lagganlia Outdoor Learning Centre
Scotland Physical Education, Watersports
Located in Cairngorm National Park, Lagganlia is set Glen Feshie amongst forest, mountains, loch and rives. We deliver outstanding outdoor education activities and inspirational outdoor learning experiences to schools.
Buzz Active Bushy Wood
London & South East Accommodation Only, Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Sustainability, Team Building, Watersports, SEN
Buzz Active provide affordable outdoor education, water sport and activity sessions, days and residential trips to the whole community. Three great locations combine to create an excellent residential. or choose to visit just one of our locations.
Oaker Wood Leisure
West Midlands Physical Education, SEN, Team Building, Watersports, Wildlife, Accommodation Only
Woodland Outdoor Activity centre with 2 Glamping Villages which can be booked by schools for exclusive use. Sleep up to 160 in Glamping Pods. Catered or self catered. High Ropes, Low Ropes, Team Building, Rafting, Zip Wire, Paintball, Target Shooting
Blackland Farm Outdoor Centre
London & South East Accommodation Only, Bushcraft, Physical Education, Team Building, Watersports
Blackland Farm Outdoor Centre is a 127 acre site set in the Sussex countryside, halfway between London and Brighton. We have over 50 adventurous activities on offer for indoor and outdoor residential and day visits!
Lagganlia Outdoor Learning Centre
Scotland Physical Education, Watersports
Located in Cairngorm National Park, Lagganlia is set Glen Feshie amongst forest, mountains, loch and rives. We deliver outstanding outdoor education activities and inspirational outdoor learning experiences to schools.
Cumulus Outdoors Residential Centre - Swanage
South West Accommodation Only, Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Forest School, Geography, Environmental Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Geology, History, Local History, Medieval, Prehistory, Saxons, Victorian, World War, Physical Education, Science, Biology, Team Building, Watersports, Wildlife, SEN
Tailored adventure residentials on the Dorset coast at our residential centre in Swanage, can include activities such as Coasteering, Climbing, Mackerel Fishing, Field Studies, and Bushcraft, delivered by our highly qualified instructors.
Buzz Active Bushy Wood
London & South East Accommodation Only, Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Sustainability, Team Building, Watersports, SEN
Buzz Active provide affordable outdoor education, water sport and activity sessions, days and residential trips to the whole community. Three great locations combine to create an excellent residential. or choose to visit just one of our locations.
Calvert Devon
South West Bushcraft, Physical Education, Team Building, Watersports, SEN
Calvert Devon is an accessible activity centre in North Devon for students with learning, physical, behavioural, sensory or multiple complex disabilities. We accommodate all classroom types with a specialism in SEN and disabled students.
Buzz Active Bushy Wood
London & South East Accommodation Only, Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Sustainability, Team Building, Watersports, SEN
Buzz Active provide affordable outdoor education, water sport and activity sessions, days and residential trips to the whole community. Three great locations combine to create an excellent residential. or choose to visit just one of our locations.
Benmore Outdoor Centre
Scotland Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Watersports, SEN
19th Century listed manor house set in Benmore Botanic garden grounds, sleeps 120 young people. Located in Loch Lomond National Park in Argyll, our adventure education residentials provide inspirational outdoor learning experiences for schools
Lagganlia Outdoor Learning Centre
Scotland Physical Education, Watersports
Located in Cairngorm National Park, Lagganlia is set Glen Feshie amongst forest, mountains, loch and rives. We deliver outstanding outdoor education activities and inspirational outdoor learning experiences to schools.
Lagganlia Outdoor Learning Centre
Scotland Physical Education, Watersports
Located in Cairngorm National Park, Lagganlia is set Glen Feshie amongst forest, mountains, loch and rives. We deliver outstanding outdoor education activities and inspirational outdoor learning experiences to schools.
Cumulus Outdoors Tented Village - Corfe Castle
South West Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Forest School, Geography, Environmental Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Geology, History, Local History, Medieval, Prehistory, Saxons, Victorian, World War, Physical Education, Science, Biology, Team Building, Watersports, Wildlife, SEN
Our exciting range of land and water based outdoor adventure activities take place at some of Dorset’s most iconic coastal locations and offer the unique opportunity to explore the stunning Jurassic Coastline whilst trying something new.
YMCA Fairthorne Manor
London & South East Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Sports Centre, Team Building, Watersports, SEN
YMCA Fairthorne Manor offers memorable day trips and residential experiences at its 95-acre activity site in Hampshire, nestled beside the River Hamble. We offer children the chance to step out of their comfort zone, work as a team, and have fun!
Bentley Copse Activity Centre
London & South East Bushcraft, Physical Education, Team Building, Wildlife
Bentley Copse offers activity days and residentials set within 30 acres of ancient woodland in the heart of the Surrey Hills.
CMC Adventure
Wales Bushcraft, Physical Education, Team Building, Wildlife
Mountains, rivers, crags and the stunning surroundings of Snowdonia National Park; CMC Adventure will bring your children to the wilderness and give them memories they’ll never forget.
Benmore Outdoor Centre
Scotland Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Watersports, SEN
19th Century listed manor house set in Benmore Botanic garden grounds, sleeps 120 young people. Located in Loch Lomond National Park in Argyll, our adventure education residentials provide inspirational outdoor learning experiences for schools
Benmore Outdoor Centre
Scotland Bushcraft, Fieldstudies, Physical Education, Watersports, SEN
19th Century listed manor house set in Benmore Botanic garden grounds, sleeps 120 young people. Located in Loch Lomond National Park in Argyll, our adventure education residentials provide inspirational outdoor learning experiences for schools
Outdoor education forms and important part of school life for the majority of pupils, with most school age children being given the opportunity to go on a residential school trip at least once during their primary and secondary education.
If we look at our own data from working with thousands of school over the past five years, the majority of schools take their Year 6 children on an outdoor pursuits trip or something similar. This is usually as a reward for the end of exams or a goodbye for their final year at Primary school. In Year 7 schools take pupils on a residential as a way of welcoming them to Secondary school.
The expected outcomes include through team building and bonding, and the development of social skills and confidence. The majority of these trips last for 5 days and run Monday to Friday. The final trend we'll mention is the time of year that these trips are taken. Primary schools overwhelmingly opt for the summer term following the SATs exams, while Secondary schools cluster around the first few weeks in September.
There are, however, plenty of schools who's circumstances do not fit this mould, and who are looking for something different from their outdoor educational experience.
Why do residential trips cluster in May, June, July and September?
We already mentioned SATs for Year 6, but this summer term exam period is also mirrored in secondary schools. While Year 7 children are not necessarily taking exams themselves, many schools take the opportunity to keep the rest of the school out of the way during the GCSE period and taking groups away on a residential trip during this time may kill two birds with one stone. Another factor is the weather; the summer months less likely to deposit wet and windy weather on you if you are camping in a field or at least spending most of the day outside doing activities.
Get school trip offers by email
Unsubscribe at any time, we won't share your email with anyone else, just send you all the best offers and ideas for your next class trip!
Subscribe
