Trips and Visits
As we say in Our Intent, we want all of our students to be "creative, self-regulating and resilient, and to be able to engage confidently with the wider world". For these reasons, trips and visits are an essential component of our Personal Development curriculum. Student feedback tells us that these activities are highlights in their school experience – and our alumni constantly refer to these experiences as part of ‘The Bishop Magic’.
Year 7
All Year 7 students are invited to attend a five-day residential at Govilon Activity Centre in South Wales. The centre offers comfortable accommodation, homecooked meals and an experienced team of instructors to ensure a high level of care throughout their week. The objective is to enable students to settle quickly into secondary school, to form strong relationships with their peers and to develop resilience and character. They experience a variety of activities such as caving, rock-climbing, canoeing, bush craft and waterfall walking.
Year 8
Year 8 students are invited to attend a seven-day camping residential in the stunning English archipelago of the Isles of Scilly. This builds on the Year 7 experience but increases the emphasis on interdependence and independence through challenges in a unique context. Student take turns catering for the whole camp, for example, on this trip. Lasting friendships are cemented and memories taken home to last a lifetime.
Year 9
Students have the opportunity to visit either Normandy, France or Cantabria, Spain in the Summer term. These trips develop their confidence in communication and build on their independent skills through visiting a European country. Overseas travel can inspire, deepen understanding of diverse cultures and history, and strengthen students’ ability to adapt to new environments.
Year 10 - 13
In Years 10 to 13, there are opportunities for students to take part in a wide range of visits which relate to subjects they are studying – both in the UK and internationally. For example, there are field trips in Biology and Geography, Design Technology museum visits, history trips, music trips, computing events, international sports tours, theatre visits and examination preparation conferences.
And throughout the year, of course, there are events in school which complement the taught curriculum and enable students to strengthen their talents, their literacy and to plan for their futures. These include enterprise activities, an arts week, Readathons and Book Week.
All of the trips and visits we organise develop students’ cultural capital, enabling them to make connections between their learning and wider life, to understand their place in the wider world and to encourage them to reach for the highest achievements.
Communication from residential trips
For trips in KS3 where students do not have mobile phones, the academy will ensure that up to 4 photographs a day are shared with parents via the agreed social media platform. Parents will be informed of safe arrival and departure arrangements from these trips through the same agreed social media platform. (Multiple photos will not be uploaded as our staff's priority will be with the students on the trip.)