Thousands of pupils to access free school trips

Thousands of pupils will have access to free school trips following the lockdowns of the pandemic, it has been announced.

Train company Avanti West Coast will offer free school trips on its mainland route to 5,000 pupils aged four to 18 as part of the scheme, enabling children to visit different parts of the country after being denied the opportunities of an excursion during the pandemic.

George the Poet, the spoken word artist who is a “Culture Conductor” for the programme’s “Feel Good Field Trips”, said: “A lot of young people have been cooped up in a house for two years.”

“Apart from the obvious challenges that that brings, it also has denied them of an opportunity to travel and see more of the country, and when you’re young it’s even more important that you get these experiences,” he said.

George recently took a school group from Manchester to London as part of the scheme, where 10 pupils aged 10-11 worked with the poet to create their own spoken word poem, later recorded together at Soho Sonic Studios in Camden.

He said the trip was “magical” and that journeys such as these were “stimulating – it gives another dimension to their learning, when you can put them in the real world”.

“It was a storytelling exercise, and this is what I do professionally, I come up with stories about my experiences and my observations and I record them and deliver them up creatively,” he said.

“And I find that process to be very educational, that’s why I have a career out of it – it helps me to engage with the world, and it helps the world to engage with some of the things that I’ve seen. And we just literally were able to provide that opportunity for a very talented group of young people.”

Pupils at partner schools, all of which have high pupil premium rates, will have the opportunity to visit a London recording studio or participate in art workshops in Coventry, as well as cooking in Manchester’s famous Curry Mile.

Rail Minister Wendy Morton said: “This is a brilliant initiative from Avanti West Coast, that will get the next generation out and about seeing the best of our country while using our fantastic rail network to do it.”

George said: “Some of our most important learning experiences as children take place beyond the confines of the classroom. Having spent time as a youth worker, helping young people to access a healthy dose of educational escapism is something I’m very passionate about.

“That’s why I’m excited to help kick-start a project that will connect young people from a whole range of different backgrounds to exciting and enriching opportunities that they’ll always remember.”