If you have a specific query about our school trips, you may be able to find the answer below in our frequently asked questions. For any questions that aren't answered below, feel free to get in touch with one of our expert travel consultants who will be happy to help.
We are the innovative parent company and driving force behind the UK’s fastest growing educational travel brands; offering unique, immersive tours to young people from 10 -21 years, designed to open minds and empower learning.
Our brands have been providing educational travel for more than 30 years. Our award-winning teams have arranged thousands of successful tours for students from schools, colleges and universities across the UK and it is testament that most of our clients come back time and time again. It’s also why we're voted the Best School Tour Operator at the School Travel Awards.
We pride ourselves on giving first class personal service with an unrivalled attention to detail. We fully understand that every single detail matters and that is why we work closely with group leaders during the tour planning stages to ensure everyone’s expectations are met.
With over 400 years combined experience in educational travel, we fully understand the need to feel that your money is not only secure but also invested into an experience your child will treasure for many years. You will feel reassured in the fact that the NGT group is fully ABTA and ATOL bonded and we are members of the School Travel Forum which regulates safety and service standards, and have been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge.
We provide safe, secure, educational visits that are affordable. Trips away from home help your children and students develop their sense of independence, learn about a new culture and encourage bonding with their class.
We know how valuable these experiences are and that's why we provide high quality trips that are expertly delivered so that your child’s enjoyment of the trip is not spoilt in any way. All the visits we suggest for the itinerary have strong educational content and we recommend the most enjoyable, interactive and hands on visits so your pupils get the most from their time away.
We know how precious your child is and every element of a trip is designed with safety in mind whilst ensuring your child is given the opportunity to “grow” as an individual and experience / develop skills taking them into adult life.
NGT deliver exceptional tours, expertly delivered – why would you send your child with anyone else!
We have a whole host of school trip planning tools and documents that teachers can use.
From checklists and insurance documents to planning guides and letter templates, it’s all covered here.
But as a general guide, here are a few of the key steps in planning a school trip:
Our subject and destination experts can help you with all of these steps – it’s just part of the service.
Fundraising might seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually a great way to get pupils – and parents! – excited about the upcoming trip.
From themed bake sales to historical dress up days, you can find loads of fundraising activity ideas in this blog.
We can also provide letter templates for teachers, to help you contact parents and explain the costs of the trip, whilst giving them some great reasons to start saving
Every element of a WST trip is designed with safety in mind, and we have strict rules in place to ensure your child can enjoy their adventure safely and securely. We are members of ABTA which means we are always up to date with the latest safety information. We are also members of STF which means we are audited every year to check that our safety regulations are to a very high standard.
Before your child departs on their school tour, it’s worth discussing a few key points to help keep them safe while they’re out and about.
For instance, make sure that your child fully understands that the group leaders / teachers are there to keep them safe. They should listen to them and heed their advice at all times.
Children should also stay with their group at all times, and not be tempted to wander off on their own – no matter how tempting the view or shop window looks!
Other important safety points include:
Finally, ensure your child is ready to appreciate the experience they are about to undertake. They should be encouraged to challenge themselves academically whilst away and have lots of fun! Like most children before them, they will return with countless memories of their school tour and tales to share.
For most groups that travel, the group leaders will advise on whether or not students are permitted to take mobile phones.
This is obviously the easiest way to contact your child, however we would advise that when taking mobile phones abroad there are number of things to consider:
Those on phone contracts may need to pay significantly higher “roaming” and connection charges for calls and text messages both received and made abroad.
The NGT Insurance policy (and most other travel policies) does not cover loss, theft or damage of mobile phones. Therefore, alternative insurance is required for any mobile phones taken.
Medical treatment in Europe:
If you are a UK resident, you are entitled to medical treatment that becomes necessary, at a reduced cost or sometimes free, when temporarily visiting a European Union (EU) country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland. Only treatment provided under the state scheme is covered. However, to obtain treatment you will need to take a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) with you. Please note: Not all UK residents are covered in Denmark, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.
Click this link for further information: https://www.ehic.org.uk/
Medical treatment outside of Europe:
Further information regarding healthcare abroad can also be found at: Healthcare Abroad
Your educational tour normally includes insurance through Next Generation Travel. If the group leader has opted out of our insurance provision, please ensure you view full policy details of your child’s alternative cover. You can view our full travel insurance policy details here.
Take a look at our key travel insurance facts for travelling in Europe.
Take a look at our key travel insurance facts for travelling worldwide.
Spending money for school tours depends on the destination and duration of the trip, and the age of the pupils. Essentials like food and drink will usually be covered, so there is no right or wrong amount of extra pocket money to bring.
However, we recommend that teachers set reasonable and affordable levels for all pupils – and that parents follow their recommendations.
Parents should follow their school’s policy. However, it’s always good to be cautious where expensive electrical equipment is concerned. Don’t forget to check your insurance policy and ensure these items are covered.
Yes, most pre-existing medical conditions are covered with NGT.
However, most school travel companies WON’T cover pre-existing illnesses. So always ask the teacher managing the trip to check with their insurance provider.
If you’re a teacher putting together a packing list, think about the climate, consider how long you are staying for, and insist on comfy walking shoes for everyone.
If you’re a parent or student and don’t know what to take on a school trip, take a look at our handy packing checklist for help.
These attacks, whilst in the news recently, are relatively rare. If an attack happens in a destination within a week of your travel dates, your tour operator will take advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. As an experienced tour operator, we would normally advise against immediate travel (within a few days) irrelevant of the FCO guidance.
Even when FCO travel restrictions are relaxed, we will happily work with schools uncomfortable continuing with their original plans.
WST will endeavour to keep your learning outside the classroom plans on track and where necessary look to change dates or switch destination, often at no extra cost.
Educational tour operators who are fully STF bonded are bound by high standards of safety management and must have a 24 hour emergency system in place. Should events occur whilst you are on tour, you can be assured of expert advice and support to quickly and effectively place your group in the safest place possible.
In the event that the FCO advise against travel, STF members are bound by the Package Travel Directive to offer either a full refund or an alternative tour.
We often get questions about what happens if there is travel disruption on school trips.
Fortunately, we offer a 24 hour emergency helpline to offer you support and advice around the clock.
An efficient tour operator should be able to ensure you can carry on with your planned tour by arranging alternative ferry crossings, flights, or solutions; providing it is safe to do so.
With NGT you’ll find no hidden surcharges. Our pricing is transparent and honest.
In your quotation and provisional booking letters, we will tell you what is and is not included in your price. We also fairly estimate any future rates, not falsifying prices to create ‘cheap deals'.
Often flights will come on sale after you have confirmed your booking. As we have no way of controlling these prices, we always advise you to build in a contingency should the flight price be higher than our estimate. Here are some tips on what to look out for in your quote.
Our approach is always to protect against currency fluctuation, by buying currency as your bookings are confirmed.
This means that once your tour has been booked, your tour price will not change with currency fluctuations.
If the value of the pound goes up or down during the quotation stage of your booking, we’ll tell you about any price changes before you confirm anything.
Any children who are not British Citizens will need to have the correct VISA for overseas travel. You can visit the UK government website for more information, or government websites for your destination country. Be sure to apply for the correct visas in plenty of time.
If your school trip group are ALL British nationals, who will ALL be under 18 years of age on the return date of your trip, you can use a group or ‘collective’ passport to visit certain European countries.
A group leader must be named on the passport. Consequently, Next Generation Travel cannot apply for collective passports on the behalf of the school. You are responsible for securing these.
The application process takes around 6 weeks.
Final passport information is normally required four weeks prior to your departure, however some airlines may require this as soon as the first point of booking.
We are not able to print boarding passes until we have received all passport information.
Please note that the government advises that everyone must have at least 6 months on their passport. If your child is due to travel in the next 6 months we recommend renewing their passport to be on the safe side.
We always arrange airport assistance for our customers. So if your flight is delayed, your contact at the airport will stay with you, find a location where you can all stay together, and work with the airline to keep you informed.
They’ll also contact us so that we can cover any changes to your itinerary.
Provided you give us the information in advance, we will work with your accommodation or restaurants on providing vegetarian options and allergy/special dietary requirements.
We always advise you to double check with the hotel/restaurant when you check in, and confirm that they understand your requirements.
Should you have more specific requirements as a group, such as Halal or Kosher food, then you must advise of this at enquiry stage. We will then research the availability of relevant restaurants before we take your enquiry further.
To receive your rooming details, all forms must be completed and returned to us (this should be no later than 6 weeks before travel).
This will enable us to finalise the details of your tour for our suppliers, and request your rooming list. Ideally your final rooming plan is then supplied to us at least two weeks prior to travel.
We can provide useful documents and guides to help you fill in your school trip risk assessments, as well as generic risk assessment examples.
If you would like a specific coach or accommodation audit, we can also email these out to you.