Why we offer residential trips

Going on a residential trip encourages students to step out of their comfort zone and embrace the world without their parents/carers. For many children, a school trip will be the first time that they are away from their family, which aids social development through creating bonds with their peers and use initiative to problem solve.  Ask many adults and the memory that stands out the most from school is a trip away! Students view the world differently, see different cultures and a school residential trip may ignite a passion for travel, adventure or working abroad. 

Considerations

However, we also need to be very mindful about the additional financial pressures that are impacting heavily on families and ensure any residential trips we offer consider very carefully questions around equity, for example payment timelines, trip costs, purpose and length of trip, year group selection, time of academic year and awareness of unintended financial pressures on families.

Annual events

As such, in addition to residential trips, from academic session 2023.2024 the Academy will also offer voluntary day trips each year for our S1-S3 year groups. These obviously will cost less and ensure young people have access to trips.

• Our S1 pupils will be offered a Christmas Theatre day trip each year organised by Drama department.
• Our S2 pupils will be offered a day trip to the Glasgow Science Centre each year offered by the Science Faculty.
• Our S3 pupils will be offered a day trip as part of an 'Activities Day' offer or a specific Faculty related offer.
• Specific Faculties may also offer various day/ evening or double period trips as part of a curriculum specific offer for any year group during the academic session.

By organising the above trips each year, this means every child should have the opportunity to go on a trip, whether that be a day trip, a subject specific event or evening trip and/or a residential trip during their time at Linlithgow Academy.

Publicising Residential trips

• To ensure you have a clear overview of all residential trip offers for the upcoming academic session, at a specific time each year (currently December/January) we will letter parents/carers with a summary of the agreed residential trips that are in place. No other residential trips will be agreed for the next academic session out with this time, unless under exceptional circumstances. 

By giving you this information at a set time each year will give you

• time to decide whether any of the upcoming residential trips are appropriate for your child
• time to spread the trip cost over a fair timeframe and
• confidence that no other residential trips will be arranged at a later point for that academic year that may impact on your decision making now.

Trip leaders will advertise their trips following the publication of the residential trip offer summary letter. This will give more specific details about the trip proposed and next steps. 

Please Note

• residential trips are organised by staff who volunteer to do this. There is no obligation for staff members to do this.
• The school must determine how to best manage staff time out of school. This must be planned and be reasonably accommodated without a detrimental impact on our core business of learning and teaching.
• Residential trips are unlikely to be available to every year group and trips on offer may fluctuate each year.
• Please note, there will be a maximum number of places for each residential trip being organised. There will also be a deadline date for expressing an interest in a particular trip. Names will not be taken after this deadline if the trip is already full. If a trip is over-subscribed, then procedures to determine allocation, including eventual use of a randomised ballot, will determine who can attend and who is on the waiting list.

Summary Information about residential trips on offer for the upcoming session can be accessed via the link below.