Find out about… the ‘My Best School Trip’ Award

It could be a day trip, UK residential or overseas adventure. We want to hear about something your school or academy has organised that has provided a rich experience, achieved a range of objectives and helped embed learning back in school.

Who can enter?

School trips covering Key Stages 1-4 are eligible, we ask teachers, EVCs or school staff to tell us all about the experiences and include comments from those involved, including from the students who took part. For 2026, the prize money has increased to £2,500 for the winning school to spend on a future educational visit. 

What type of trips have won before?

The roll call of winners has been varied since the first award was presented in 2016, from Key Stage 1 residentials through to city day trips and week-long adventures.

The 2025 winner was St Woolos Primary School, Newport, Wales, for their Year 5 residential to Lower Treginnis Farm. Head teacher Rhian Milton entered the trip, describing it as a “deep and immersive learning experience that has created a long-lasting legacy”. 

The children spent a week at the Farms for City site in Wales, taking on responsibilities including milking the goat, tending to the animals, fixing buildings, harvesting produce and preparing and cooking meals. 

Rhian told us: “Treginnis Farm is, without doubt, the most powerful residential experience our children could ever have. It goes far beyond a week away. It immerses them in real work - caring for animals, growing food, cooking meals, and understanding the rhythms of nature. No other residential has the same depth, impact, or authenticity.”

The judges praised the trip for how it allowed pupils to grow and develop as well as strengthen relationships between staff in addition to the relationships with pupils.

The experience was described by one judge as “detailing everything I would hope to see in a ‘brilliant residential’. It demonstrated so clearly learning objectives and links to the curriculum, and most importantly the learning was firmly embedded once back at school.”

To hear more about what the judges thought, click here. 

The school won £2,000 prize money to spend on a future educational visit. 

Congratulations to all involved, and also congrats to all of our finalists for 2025 who were: 

• Abbeymead Primary School, Gloucester, for their Year 5/6 Snowdon adventure.
• Diss High School, Norfolk, for their Year 12 trip to New York.
• Falmouth School, Cornwall, for their Year 9 Girls in STEM day trip to King Edward Mine.
• Southgate School, Huddersfield, for their residential to the Calvert Trust in the Lake District.
• St Woolos Primary School, Newport, Wales, for their Year 5 residential to Lower Treginnis Farm (winners). 

Other previous winners

Carisbrooke College on the Isle of Wight won in 2024 for their Year 10/11 trip to Vietnam. Mandarin teacher Joe Briscoe felt it important to offer a trip that not only embedded the learning that had taken place in class, but to do something that expanded the perspectives and horizons of the group, particularly following the lack of international trips during the pandemic. 

The starting point was a package offered by a tour operator; Joe altered the itinerary, made suggestions based on his experience and knowledge of the area, and tailored it to suit his particular group of students. 

To read more about this educational visit, and all the 2024 finalists, click here.

The winning school in 2023 was Langdale Primary School in Cumbria who entered their Key Stage 1-2 ‘Our Place in Space’ trip to Liverpool. They took 20 children to the city to take advantage of an art installation which allowed them to embrace their curriculum topic which included Earth, Space and the Solar System.