Trips and Excursions
‘Pupils’ learning is enriched by opportunities to expand their knowledge beyond the academic curriculum. For instance, pupils enjoyed learning about historical events when visiting another country.’
Ofsted 2024
Learning outside the classroom is vitally important for all pupils, and we offer a variety of opportunities for all year groups to experience this. These include activities as part of Extended Learning Days, subject-related trips during the school day and residential trips both in this country and abroad. You can learn more about each of these different types of trip below.
We are constantly looking for new opportunities to enrich the curriculum with learning activities which take place outside the classroom. Many of these are able to be offered during the school day or during an Extended Learning Day, such as Geography Fieldwork trips, visits to places of worship and UCLAN ATC educational campus visits. Other trips take place outside of school hours, including popular visits to the theatre in Manchester, Salford or Blackpool.
We are proud of the exemplary attendance which many of our pupils maintain throughout their time in our school. Pupils see the value in attending school regularly if they are to achieve their potential and prepare themselves to be productive citizens in modern Britain. However, we also offer more tangible rewards for attendance. As well as the weekly ticket for the attendance draw, all pupils whose attendance is 97% or above are eligible for attendance reward events which take place at the end of each term.
In December, Year 7 and 8 pupils are able to enjoy a trip to the cinema to watch one of the latest films, while pupils in Years 9, 10 and 11 enjoy a trip to the Trafford Centre, where they can either shop, catch a film, eat at a variety of restaurants or enjoy the Christmas funfair. Just before Easter, we hold an in-house rewards event where pupils can either watch a film in the Hall or alternatively take part in a number of e-Sports competitions. In July, all pupils with the correct attendance are able to enjoy a day out at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, enjoying such attractions as ‘The Big One’, ‘Valhalla’ and ‘ICON’.
For many years, we have taken pupils to Castlerigg Manor in Keswick, home of the Lancaster Diocese Youth Service. These residential trips give pupils an opportunity to grow in friendship and faith in a different setting away from the hustle and bustle of home and school, whilst also benefitting from the beauty of the Lake District. We operate two retreats, a three-day visit in Year 8 and a full week in Year 10. These retreats are run by the Religious Education department and our Chaplaincy team.
We are pleased to be able to offer a number of foreign residential trips which support pupils’ learning in a variety of subject. The most well-established of these is our biennial trip to Berlin, which is organised by the Modern Foreign Languages and History departments and first took place in May 2010. The trip gives Year 9 and 10 pupils the opportunity to practice their language skills and learn about the history and culture of this vibrant European capital, visiting such places as the TV Tower, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, the Reichstag and the Olympic Stadium.
We have also run two visits to the Battlefields of Northern Europe. Two groups of Year 8 and 9 pupils have stayed in Diksmuide, Belgium, learning about the Ypres Salient and spending time in both Belgium and France. The next Battlefields Experience is planned for May 2026, this time heading to Normandy.
Two further trips are planned for 2026, with the Geography department offering a visit to Barcelona in February, and the Modern Foreign Languages department planning a trip to Paris in October.
Both the Berlin and Battlefields trips have their own ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) accounts which allow parents, carers and friends to ‘follow’ the trips live. You can view previous trips on this platform (requires registration) by clicking on the links above.
The table below shows the various trips, excursions and opportunities for learning outside the classroom that are scheduled for this school year.
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 | |
| October | River Wyre Geography Fieldwork Trip RE trip to St Walburge’s Church (ELD 1) | ||||
| November | Synagogue Visits | ||||
| December | Cinema Attendance Rewards Trip | Cinema Attendance Rewards Trip | UCLAN ATC Event – Computing and Business Trafford Centre Attendance Rewards Trip | Trafford Centre Attendance Rewards Trip | Trafford Centre Attendance Rewards Trip |
| January | ‘Wicked’ Theatre Trip | ‘Wicked’ Theatre Trip Castlerigg Retreat (3 Days) | ‘Wicked’ Theatre Trip | ‘Wicked’ Theatre Trip | ‘Wicked’ Theatre Trip |
| February | UCLAN ATC Event – Engineering and Sport | ||||
| March | |||||
| April | ‘Mary Poppins’ Theatre Trip UCLAN ATC Event – Health and Art & Design | ‘Mary Poppins’ Theatre Trip | ‘Mary Poppins’ Theatre Trip | ‘Mary Poppins’ Theatre Trip | ‘Mary Poppins’ Theatre Trip |
| May | Berlin Trip (6 Days) | Berlin Trip (6 Days) | |||
| June | Duke of Edinburgh Camping Trip | Castlerigg Retreat (5 Days) Geography Field Trip – Grasmere | |||
| July | Blackpool Pleasure Beach Attendance Rewards Trip | Blackpool Pleasure Beach Attendance Rewards Trip | Liverpool Geography Trip (ELD 5) Blackpool Pleasure Beach Attendance Rewards Trip | Work Experience (One Week) RE/History Lancaster Trip (ELD 5) Blackpool Pleasure Beach Attendance Rewards Trip |
For further information regarding Trips and Excursions please contact:
Mr Warham, email: nwar@ccc.lancs.sch.uk or telephone school reception: (01772) 716912.
