Knowing more about our School Travel Organiser readers and online audience can only be a good thing. So, to help us create the best content and to uncover trends and views of interest to schools and providers, we asked readers and the wider sector to complete a new survey.
Through the ‘School Trips & Learning Outside The Classroom Survey 2025’ teachers and educational visits coordinators told us how, what and why.
Getting the latest views and insight is important, as well as understanding where schools and organisations find ideas, advice and contacts. Plus, it can be interesting and beneficial for schools and providers to see trends within the sector.
Got something else to add? Please feel free to do so in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
What did the survey tell us?
There was a good mix of participants.
WE ASKED: What is your role? (can select a maximum of two)
| Educational Visits Coordinator | 55% |
| Class Teacher | 26%% |
| Deputy / Assistant Headteacher | 21% |
| Head of Year / Department | 18% |
| Other* | 15% |
| Office Staff | 3% |
| Headteacher | 0% |
| Teaching Assistant | 0% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: Director of Operations SLT, Educational and Pastoral Mentor, EVA, Senior Leader, Learning Mentor.)
WE ASKED: What type of school or organisation do you work in?
| Maintained School (Local Authority) | 31% |
| Independent School | 26% |
| Academy | 15% |
| Multi-Academy Trust | 14% |
| Special School | 12% |
| Free School | 2% |
WE ASKED: What is the educational age range of your school / organisation? (select all that apply)
| Secondary (ages 11-16) | 58% |
| Sixth Form / College (ages 16-18) | 44% |
| Primary (ages 5-11) | 42% |
| Other* | 13% |
| Lower (ages 5-9) | 8% |
| Middle (ages 9-13) | 5% |
| Upper (ages 13-16) | 5% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: infant age 3-7, including nursery 3+, 3-18, 3-11, 3-19.)
WE ASKED: What types of school trips and visits does your school run? (select all that apply)
(click or tap each segment to see the percentages)
WE ASKED: When your school runs residentials (one night or more), what time of year do you go? (select all that apply)
| Autumn | 51% |
| Winter | 40% |
| Spring | 70% |
| Summer | 64% |
WE ASKED: How far ahead do you plan school trips?
| Type | 3 months or less | 3 months+ | 6 months+ | 12 months+ | 18 months+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local school trips | 70% | 21% | 5% | 2% | 0% |
| Day trips of more than an hour away | 37% | 48% | 10% | 2% | 0% |
| Residentials (1 night or more away) | 0% | 5% | 59% | 27% | 0% |
| Overseas trips | 0% | 0% | 10% | 35% | 16% |
WE ASKED: How far are you willing to travel for…
| Type | Up to 25 miles | Up to 50 miles | Up to 100 miles | Up to 200 miles | 200 miles+ | n/a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day trips | 24% | 40% | 32% | 0% | 3% | 0% |
| UK residentials | 0% | 10% | 32% | 24% | 26% | 8% |
WE ASKED: How do you communicate with providers and book your school trips? (select all that apply)
| 97% | |
| Phone | 61% |
| Website | 47% |
| Other* | 8% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: Class Dojo, Arbor.)
WE ASKED: Which subject areas do the trips you run link to? (select all that apply)
| Geography | 83% |
| History | 66% |
| Physical Education | 66% |
| Art and Design | 61% |
| English | 61% |
| Science | 58% |
| Drama | 47% |
| Design and Technology | 38% |
| Maths | 38% |
| Modern Foreign Languages | 38% |
| Religious Education | 36% |
| Music | 33% |
| STEM | 33% |
| Citizenship | 30% |
| Computing | 30% |
| Dance | 27% |
| Food and Nutrition | 27% |
| Business Studies | 22% |
| Other* | 22% |
| Leisure and Tourism | 19% |
| Media | 5% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: trips abroad.)
WE ASKED: What type of trips are the most popular in your experience? (select up to 3 choices)
| Residentials | 51% |
| Adventure and Activity Centres | 41% |
| Theatre | 36% |
| Historic Venues | 27% |
| Museums & Galleries | 25% |
| Theme Parks | 22% |
| Zoos and Wildlife Attractions | 20% |
| Natural and Outdoor Attractions | 16% |
| Skiing & Snowsports | 16% |
| Sporting Venues | 15% |
| Other* | 2% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: pastoral trips, expeditions for leadership, preparation for adulthood, general teambuilding and leisure, outdoor learning.)
WE ASKED: Do you prefer to visit attractions that provide workshops?
| Yes workshops are important | 29% |
| It’s preferable but not essential | 52% |
| It doesn’t matter | 17% |
Magazines and media habits
WE ASKED: What magazines, websites and media do you use to find ideas, advice and contacts when planning and organising school trips? (select all that apply)
| School Travel Organiser magazine | 75% |
| School Travel Organiser website | 56% |
| Learning Outside the Classroom Yearbook | 48% |
| EVC Magazine | 28% |
| Other* | 25% |
| TES | 22% |
| Educational Visits UK | 16% |
| The School Trip | 11% |
| Teach Primary | 8% |
| Plan My School Trip | 8% |
| UK School Trips | 5% |
| Teach Secondary | 2% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: Horizons, social media, Google, provider websites.)
WE ASKED: What magazine, website or media is your preferred source to find ideas, advice and contacts when planning and organising school trips? (select only one)
| School Travel Organiser magazine | 52% |
| School Travel Organiser website | 14% |
| Learning Outside the Classroom Yearbook | 13% |
| Other* | 9% |
| Educational Visits UK | 5% |
| EVC Magazine | 5% |
| The School Trip | 2% |
| Plan My School Trip | 0% |
| Teach Primary | 0% |
| Teach Secondary | 0% |
| TES | 0% |
| UK School Trips | 0% |
(* answers for those selecting ‘other’ included: Google search, provider websites, no preference.)
WE ASKED: Do you keep copies of magazines and yearbooks, etc to use for future reference?
Respondents said…
Yes 69%
No 31%
WE ASKED: When reading and looking for ideas, advice and contacts, what formats / platforms do you use? (tick all that apply)
(click or tap each segment to see the percentages)
WE ASKED: Is it important to you to know the source of information / content you are reading?
Respondents said:
Yes 100%
No 0%
WE ASKED: Do you trust AI-generated answers from search engines without knowing your source of the information?
Respondents said:
Yes 15%
No 85%
Awards and Recognition
WE ASKED: School Travel Organiser organises the annual School Travel Awards initiative. If you see that an attraction or provider is a past winner, would that encourage you to visit or use their services?
| Yes it would encourage me more | 87% |
| It wouldn’t make any difference | 13% |
WE ASKED: Are you aware of the LOtC Quality Badge, developed and managed by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom?
| Yes | 91% |
| No | 9% |
WE ASKED: If an attraction or provider has been awarded an LOtC Quality Badge, would it encourage you to visit or use their services more?
| It’s an essential award when choosing attractions and providers | 24% |
| It would encourage me more but it is not essential | 73% |
| It makes no difference | 3% |
The survey was available online between Monday 15th September and Sunday 19th October 2025 and there were 443 respondents. They each had to qualify themselves as working for a school or academy and that their role included organising school trips. Percentages within the results were not rounded up or down.
Our thanks go to everyone who took the time to contribute.
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