Kate Kendall from Baxter College reflects on a busy week of enrichment, sharing the tips that make it an annual success.
Organising a successful school Activities Week is always a balancing act. How do you cater to hundreds of different interests, manage varying budgets, and ensure that every student - regardless of financial background - gets to experience the joy of learning outside the classroom?
Our school took on this challenge, designing a dynamic Activities Week that blended international and local residentials, high-adrenaline regional trips, day excursions, and fully funded community initiatives.
School: Baxter College, Worcestershire
Subjects: Cross-curricular
KS: 3-5
Number of pupils: 500+
It’s all in the planning
Activities Week is now in its third year, and we’ve learned that tight administrative oversight and early financial planning are paramount. All day trips are booked and managed centrally by myself, with the invaluable support of our in-school admin team. This allows us to make quick, definitive calls on things like coach bookings and budget adjustments without getting wires crossed, while taking the burden off teaching staff.
To support our families, we spread payments across the entire academic year. We share our initial information booklet with parents in early October, and by late October or early November we collect a deposit to secure places. This early start allows the overall costs to be spread out comfortably over several months, with final balances not due until April or May. Getting these numbers locked in before Christmas allows us to adjust early - if a trip is wildly popular, we have time to add an extra coach; if numbers are lower, we can scale down to a minibus to keep within budget.
Activities near and far
Dedicating this specific week to activities makes our major residentials possible without disrupting normal lessons. This year, we simultaneously ran three fantastic overnight trips, providing over 150 residential places across the school: 45 Year 7s went to Blackwell Adventure for outdoor team-building, 40 Year 8s took part in a poignant Battlefields Tour in France and Belgium booked through Anglia Tours, and 70 students from Years 9 to 13 travelled to Spain with Voyager.
Running these large residentials alongside our local day visits meant tracking hundreds of students moving in different directions. For the students remaining in the UK, we split the week into clear blocks: Theme One on Monday and Tuesday, and Theme Two on Thursday and Friday.
Each Theme One itinerary paired an immersive, out-of-region excursion with a complementary in-school or local day activity to balance education with leisure. Itinerary themes covered football, science, adrenaline, Harry Potter and day trips, including trips to Manchester’s National Football Museum, We The Curious, Warner Bros. Studio Tour, and Cliff Lakes Aqua Park.
Theme Two saw four separate day trips on Thursday - Thorpe Park, Drayton Manor, West Midlands Safari Park, and Malvern’s Ice Quest - converge on the Friday, resulting in 200 students taking over Ninja Warrior UK. Alternatives to the Ninja challenge were offered, including a trip combining Stratford-upon-Avon’s MAD Museum and Butterfly Farm with Severn Valley Alpaca Walking.
Opportunities for everyone
We now try to utilise public transport to keep costs manageable. For example, our Day Tripper itinerary saw students use local trains to Worcester - cutting out coach hire fees entirely while teaching valuable life skills in navigating public transport. However, true inclusivity means making sure that economic barriers never prevent a child from experiencing the joy of an off-site trip.
As a school with around 37% Pupil Premium, bridging this financial gap is an absolute priority for us. We sought out external partnerships and grant bids to secure fully funded, no-cost off-site options for Wednesday, ensuring 100% of our remaining student body had the opportunity to get out-of-school. This saw 120 students tackling a scenic trek over the Malvern Hills, 30 students heading off for an animal-welfare focused trip to the Goodheart Animal Sanctuary, and 30 students enjoying an educational, high-energy day at Worcester Racecourse courtesy of the Racing to School initiative.
Every summer, we collect feedback from staff and students to find out what worked, what can be improved, and - most importantly - what they want to see on the programme for the following year. It is a massive team effort, but seeing our students build independence, discover new passions, and create lifelong memories outside the classroom makes every single logistical hurdle completely worth it. We are already looking ahead to next year, armed with fresh feedback to ensure we keep breaking down barriers and delivering an unforgettable experience for every student in our school.
