Bring back school trips? We’ve never stopped offering them, PDF Print E-mail

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Cairngorms Expedition
The Government’s announcement that it is to reduce red tape preventing schools from organising trips and expeditions has met with widespread acclaim. But Bredon School believes such trips are so important that it has never let the burden of form-filling stand in its way.

David Keyte, Principal of the independent school near Tewkesbury, welcomed the announcement, but said: “Even though it’s become very tough to cope with the bureaucracy, we’ve always done it because we were determined to keep offering trips to our pupils.

“Of course, paperwork in itself doesn’t keep children safe – that’s down to the staff on a trip. We’re fortunate to have a dedicated team of professionals willing to take on the responsibilities of supervising children away from school.”

When the school was first established in 1962, one of its core beliefs was that pupils would gain self-reliance and self-confidence through new experiences. So for many years, it has organised an annual weekend to train sixth-formers in leadership skills, school camps for Years 6 to 10, international trips and Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions.

“Obviously some things have changed – for example, the days when Sixth-Formers were told to hitch-hike to a cottage the school owned in the Brecon Beacons have long gone!” said Mr Keyte.

“But in recent years, health & safety requirements have become almost overwhelming, involving endless risk assessments. So if the Government goes ahead with its plan for a Quality Badge identifying sites with the highest safety standards, this would be a real boon.”
ENDS
Issued on behalf of Bredon School by Edge Media

MEDIA CONTACTS: Mr David Keyte on 01684 293156 or Paul Herbert on 01453 544900