Trips and visits represent ideal opportunities for students to widen their studies, interests, or experiences of different cultures in a setting less formal than the classroom environment. A small number of these form an essential part of an academic course, with others regarded as being very useful for students to add an extra dimension to their studies or personal development. We do also provide some recreational trips to allow children to experience new things.
Trips and visits that are not an essential part of a course of study are treated as an ‘optional extra’, as outlined in the relevant DfE guidance (‘Charging for out of school activities’). Financial contributions from parents and carers are voluntary, but the academy reserves the right to cancel any trip where there is insufficient funding available to allow it to take place, or where it is felt that student and staff safety is at risk, and will return payments collected if this happens.
Payment deadlines for all our trips, and any associated penalties for late cancellations or payment, are set by the companies we use, and not the academy itself. We will do all we can to mitigate such penalties, but cannot guarantee any specific level of refund to parents and carers.
Whatever the underlying rationale for a trip or visit, staff and students are representing the good name of Queen Elizabeth’s Academy in the wider community.
