Trips and Visits

Here at Downend we believe in the intrinsic value of educational visits and offer a variety of these as part of our established enrichment programme. These give our students opportunities for personal and academic progress beyond the classroom, to explore their curriculum in a real-world context so as to deepen understanding, as well as to enjoy new experiences and to build new relationships.

Below is an overview of the residential trips that will be on offer for each year group, including approximate costs. For each trip a letter will be sent giving details of the trip, confirming its cost and payment plan as well as who to contact if making the payments presents financial difficulties for you and your family. We have published this overview to help inform your decision making around trips, which we appreciate is difficult in the current economic climate.

We are committed to as many of our students as possible attending a residential during their time at Downend and as such priorities year 7 camp, which we heavily subsidise for low-income families. Whilst the other residentials represent valuable learning opportunities, students are not disadvantaged by non-attendance.

Trips & Visits 2024 / 2025

Year Group	Trip and brief description	Date	Approx cost
Year 7	Y7 Residential - 3 days at the Ultimate Adventure Centre site in Bideford, where students will enjoy numerous challenging activities developing team building & problem solving skills, as well as developing students’ confidence and independence. The centre is set in the peaceful North Devon countryside near Bideford with experienced and fully trained instructors leading groups through every aspect of the days.	July 2025	£275 Deposit: Oct
Year 8	Y8 Humanities London Trip - 2 (full-on) days exploring the capital city. On day one, the focus is history and includes visiting the Tower of London (including visiting the Jewel House and the Crown Jewels), a curated Thames river cruise, and a visit to the British Museum. The day ends with time in the iconic Leicester Square and dinner at Cafe Rouge before a well deserved rest at the Premier Inn. The following day the focus switches to Geography with a guided tour of the 2012 Olympic Site; one of Europe's largest urban regeneration sites. Here we visit the Olympic velodrome and swimming arena, and the Olympic Stadium (now home to West Ham Utd). Y8 Humanities London trip curriculum links	July 2025	£350 Deposit: Nov
Year 9	Y9 Aachen Christmas Market - 2 days An opportunity to develop and practise language skills whilst visiting the Christmas Markets, Lindt Chocolate factory and Aachen Cathedral and Crypt.	Dec 2024	£298 Deposit: Sept
	Y9 Bronze DofE Enrolment	N/A	£26

	Practice and Assessed Expedition (2 days each)	TBC	£155
Year 10	Y10 Monaco - (Languages students only) 5 days The trip is an excellent way for your child to gain experience of France including its culture and history, and to advance their French language skills. The trip will include up to four mornings (16hours) of language workshops. Students will also take part in a number of visits and activities. The emphasis is on communication, fun activities and enjoyment of the French language and culture.	April 2025	£590 Deposit: Sept
	Y10 Berlin Trip - (German language students only) 5 days This is an excellent opportunity for students to practise language skills and improve cultural knowledge in a German-speaking country.	March 2025	£550
	Y9 Silver DofE Practice and Assessed Expedition (3 days each)	TBC	£250
P16	Y13 Italy - Napoli Trip - (Y13 Geography Students) 4 days. This trip is for Y13 Geography students, and is primarily linked to the Hazards module of the A level syllabus. Students will gain an understanding of volcanology, including the potential impacts (Pompeii) and how people can live with the presence of volcanic hazards (Vesuvius). In addition to this they will have the opportunity to experience Italian culture and visit famous landmarks.	Feb 2025	£850

	Y12 London Enrichment Residential (3 days)	July 2025	£435
All Mixed	Football Tour - Portugal *	April 2025	£1500
All Mixed	Ski Trip - Italy *	March 2026	£1000

Enrichment Trips and Visits 2025 / 2026

Year Group	Trip and brief description	Date	Approx cost (TBC)
Year 7	Y7 Residential - 3 days at the Ultimate Adventure Centre site in Bideford, where students will enjoy numerous challenging activities developing team building & problem solving skills, as well as developing students’ confidence and independence. The centre is set in the peaceful North Devon countryside near Bideford with experienced and fully trained instructors leading groups through every aspect of the days.	July 2026	£275 Deposit: Oct
Year 8	Y8 Humanities London Trip - 2 (full-on) days exploring the capital city. On day one, the focus is history and includes visiting the Tower of London (including visiting the Jewel House and the Crown Jewels), a curated Thames river cruise, and a visit to the British Museum. The day ends with time in the iconic Leicester Square and dinner at Cafe Rouge before a well deserved rest at the Premier Inn. The following day the focus switches to Geography with a guided tour of the 2012 Olympic Site; one of Europe's largest urban regeneration sites. Here we visit the Olympic velodrome and swimming arena, and the Olympic Stadium (now home to West Ham Utd). Y8 Humanities London trip curriculum links	July 2026	£345 Deposit: Nov
Year 9	Y9 Aachen Christmas Market - (2 days) An opportunity to develop and practise language skills whilst visiting the Christmas Markets, Lindt Chocolate factory and Aachen Cathedral and Crypt.	Dec 2025	£290 Deposit: May
Year 9	Y9 Bronze DofE Enrollment Practice and Assessed Expedition (2 days each)	N/A Date TBC	£26 £180
Year 10	Y10 Berlin - GCSE German or RS students (5 days) This trip to Berlin, Germany’s buzzing capital, gives students an unforgettable introduction to German culture and inspires a love of all things German. The city is packed full of fascinating history and yet is still a modern, vibrant and cool city. This trip will not only be an opportunity for students to develop their language skills, and to practise their speaking and listening skills but also includes visits linked to ethics, history and religion including visits to the Jewish Cemetery, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, Holocaust Memorial.	Oct 2025	£780 Deposit: May
Year 10	Y10 Monaco - GCSE French students only (5 days) The trip is an excellent way for your child to gain experience of France including its culture and history, and to advance their French language skills. The trip will include up to four mornings (16 hours) of language workshops. Students will also take part in a number of visits and activities. The emphasis is on communication, fun activities and enjoyment of the French language and culture.	April 2026	£620 Deposit: Sept
Year 10	Y10 Silver DofE Practice and Assessed Expedition (3 days each)	TBC	£250
Year 12	Y12 Krakow - Social Science students. Visiting this famous Polish city and its surrounding sites is the perfect trip to broaden students' cultural experiences whilst linking directly to their curriculum. The trip includes visits to Auschwitz and Birkenau, as well as the Jewish Quarter, Kazimierz, Schindler’s Factory and so much more.	July 2026	£900 Deposit: TBC
Year 13	Y13 Napoli Italy - Geography Students (4 days) This trip is for Y13 Geography students, and is primarily linked to the Hazards module of the A level syllabus. Students will gain an understanding of volcanology, including the potential impacts (Pompeii) and how people can live with the presence of volcanic hazards (Vesuvius). In addition to this they will have the opportunity to experience Italian culture and visit famous landmarks.	Feb 2026 15:02:26	£890 Deposit: TBC

Y8,9,10	Ski Trip - Italy *	March 2026	£1300
Y8,9,10	Football Tour - TBC *	April 2027	£1500

* these trips will run bi-annually on alternate years

In addition to residentials, a variety of day/evening trips take place each year. These have included theatre trips, field trips, writing workshops, careers fairs and visits, sports tournaments, court visits, STEM visits and workshops, singing trips and performances…. and so much more!.

Additional enrichment opportunities are also available on-site, please see https://www.downend.com/Students/Extra-Curricular/ for further information. These are updated on a term basis.

This list is not exhaustive, and as opportunities arise we reserve the right to add to this list. In addition, where insufficient contributions are received then trips may be cancelled.

If you require any further information about these visits and trips, or the enrichment programme in place please email the school at dow-admin@cset.co.uk and it will be forwarded to the most relevant person.