10 Free School Trips for 2023

School trips often form precious memories for pupils, and it’s easy to think that the more money you spend, the better the memories. But there’s a lot of interesting, educational things you can do for free, and we’ve collected ten of the best ones:

1. Pizza Express School Visits

While your first thought when hearing PizzaExpress probably isn’t “educational,” PizzaExpress have been opening up their kitchens to the public since 1999. They offer a course for school children to learn about food hygiene and the importance of fresh ingredients. And of course, they also learn how to knead their own dough to make their own pizzas! At the end of the day, the pizzas are cooked and the school can take them back for the pupils to have for lunch. Pupils will learn about food safety standards, what a restaurant kitchen looks like and how it works. And the best part is that the whole day is free.

Click here for full details.

2. Warbutons Farm Site

Another company doing good work to help pupils understand more about how their food gets to their plate is Warburtons. Specifically targeted to disadvantaged inner-city schools, Warburtons Wheat Education Programme gives pupils who would not otherwise have the chance, the opportunity to experience what farm life is like. Pupils will get to learn how to sample soil to check if it is suitable for different crops, learn more about what a farmer does every day and understand more about the importance of water.

Click here for full details.

3. Historical sites with English Heritage

English Heritage is famous for its wide variety of interesting historical sites and encouragement of youth education. Many of their over 400 sites offer free school visits, meaning that the children can learn about medieval castles, war bunkers or roman forts for only the cost of the journey there. As an added bonus, teachers are allowed a free visit beforehand to get familiar with the sites. You’ll be able to pre-plan the visit, ensure that you know the highlights, and have the chance to enjoy the site yourself, before helping your pupils do the same!

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4. Royal National Lifeboat Institution

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) allows free visits to all their sites across the country. If you’ve exceeded your school trip allowance for the year, they can also send a volunteer to the school, to teach children about staying safe on the water. They’ll also teach the children about the role of rescue workers, and what happens if there is an emergency at sea. In addition to the in-person visit, the RNLI will provide the school with a range of resources like lesson plans, videos and activities, all designed to give pupils an insight into the responsibilities of lifeboat crews and lifeguards.

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5. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have many resources to help get children outside and interacting with nature. One of these resources is a course for schools designed to help pupils learn about the environments they are surrounded by. Instead of the school travelling to see different wildlife, the RSPB have teamed up with Aldi to send trained volunteer educators to you.

These volunteers will come to your school and help the children find what’s interesting in their surrounding environment. They’ll teach pupils about birds, general wildlife and the importance of taking care of the nature that is around them. The course is 90 minutes long and is currently available in 17 UK cities.

Click here for full details.

6. Local nature walks

If you are not lucky enough to live in one of the 17 cities where the RSPB programme is offered, don’t despair. While it may take a little more work, you can still plan a local nature walk that will teach them lots about the environment around them.

With some pre-planning and the help of parental volunteers, you can take the children to a local natural area and teach them about the environment through games and fun science experiments. In addition to using the downloadable resources the RSPB provides, you could plan an art project using twigs and leaves, scavenger hunts to help the pupils keep their eyes open to nature, and teach them about how to take care of the environment.

7. The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) is a charity protecting our wetlands and the wildlife that lives therein, and they also offer free admission to state-funded schools. Visits are supported with pre-and post-visit lesson plan suggestions and a wealth of resources available.

The WWT offer a wide variety of teaching sessions to choose from, as well as a self-guided tour. Like English Heritage, teachers are able to visit ahead of the tour to familiarise themselves with the centre.

8. Local libraries

As a teacher you’ll no doubt be a fan of, and perhaps a frequent visitor to, your local library. But are your children? Libraries are still important, especially to those who live in less privileged areas, and they can be an under appreciated school trip resource.

Local libraries also often have free events on for pupils to take part in, sometimes even inviting authors to talk about their books. If you have an idea for an event that would be interesting for your pupils, speak to your local library and see if they’d be interested in helping you make it happen.

9. Waste management and recycling

Veolia provide free visits for schools to learn about waste management and for pupils to learn about where their rubbish goes and the importance of recycling. In addition to a tour of their facilities, Veolia also offers free lesson plans, worksheets and downloads for you to use in the classroom.

With a little pre-planning, school trips don’t have to cost much, or anything at all. There are many opportunities around us for pupils to learn, and luckily, there are plenty of people out there who want to support teachers and schools in making that happen.

10. Local museums

Another great resource for free school trips is your local museums. Like libraries, museums are often very helpful in offering private tours for schools as well as resources to help support learning in the classroom. And because there are so many different museums available, tailoring them to your curriculum couldn't be easier.

If the particular museum you're interested in visiting doesn't have information about free school trips on their website, don't hesitate to reach out and ask if they would be willing to work with you. Many museums will also offer private talks and downloadable resources to help you keep the learnings alive when you're back in the classroom.