Reflections on a Remarkable Year in Educational Travel

The real growth story this year, came from Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). We’ve seen a significant increase in demand for immersive trips to France, Spain, and Germany as schools look to reignite language learning post-pandemic and offer these trips to support the practical learning of students.

Unsurprisingly, Geography remains a popular choice for overseas educational travel, with Iceland and the Bay of Naples continuing to be the favoured destinations, albeit the actual numbers travelling is being impacted by higher costs due to a reduction in flight availability and volcanic activity.   

Earlier in 2025 WST were thrilled to have their Iceland Geography trip endorsed by Pearson Edexcel as providing an engaging and relevant introduction to GCSE Geography B - Component 1: Topic 1: Hazardous Earth.

Other strong performers included:

• History, with fully guided trips by Anglia Tours to Berlin and the WW1 battlefields offering powerful contextual learning.
• Performing Arts tours to London gaining popularity, particularly with the extensive array of shows in the West End and interactive Theatre workshops.

Border controls and the ease of travel to Europe as a result of Brexit, remain high on the list of questions the team are fielding from group leaders.  The positive is progress has been made this year thanks to the lobbying by the School Travel Forum, with successful trials at the Port of Dover, with school groups being fast tracked through.  It is also reassuring that both France and Germany are committed to supporting the benefits of student travel.

The delayed Entry/Exit system (EES) is due to come into effect on a phased basis from October 2025, which we are keeping a close eye on, ready to support groups travelling in the new school year. We'll keep you up to date with any of the latest changes in travelling to Europe.

While there’s still no direct funding support for overseas educational travel, The Turing scheme, has been well used offering education providers the opportunity to apply for funding to support their students with educational travel around the world.  We are also aware of more schools building trips into their wider Pupil Premium strategies, especially when destinations are closely tied to the curriculum, to ensure more students can travel and benefit from both the educational and personal development experience.

One of the most encouraging findings from this year has been the steadfast commitment from teachers to deliver enriching, real-world learning experiences, through educational travel.

However, we also heard—loud and clear—the challenges they face:

• Increasing administrative burdens of trip planning and pressures around safeguarding.
• Concerns about trip affordability for families, given the impact of the cost of living and need for longer planning times to secure affordable prices by booking early.
• A need for greater support and high levels of customer service when organising trips.

It was heartening that despite the hurdles, those who ran trips spoke overwhelmingly of the transformational impact on pupils, especially in confidence, curiosity, and classroom engagement.

For the new school year we will be launching a new loyalty scheme to support teachers with funding of multiple trips booked through our brands.

Amidst the logistics and planning, it’s easy to forget the true heart of educational travel: the students themselves.

This year, we’ve witnessed thousands of young people benefit profoundly from stepping outside their usual surroundings and into new environments:

• Students have grown in confidence, taking ownership of their learning in unfamiliar settings, navigating new cities, and interacting with different cultures.
• They’ve developed vital life skills—from budgeting and independence to resilience and teamwork.
• For many, it was their first time travelling abroad. The experience not only deepened their understanding of the subject but broadened their horizons, fuelling aspirations for the future and enhancing their curiosity and sense of wonder.
• Our 2025 teacher survey found that in language trips especially, 92% of teachers reported greater engagement and fluency, proving the power of real-world immersion. 
• And critically, educational travel has helped forge stronger peer relationships, fostered empathy, and reinforced classroom learning in a way that’s simply not possible within four walls.

This has been a year of optimism, growth and reimagination for the educational travel sector.

If there’s one theme that stands out, it’s that teachers are still deeply committed to opening their students’ eyes to the wider world. But to keep this going, our industry must continue to adapt—offering greater flexibility, smarter pricing, and deeper curriculum integration.

We're incredibly proud of the work our team and partners have done this year to support schools through changing times. As we look to the new school year, the demand is there—but so is the need to listen, innovate and advocate.

Here’s to another year of learning beyond the classroom.