School residential trips that change lives
Our Outward Bound centres for schools, set in the wild landscapes of the Lake District, Wales, and Scotland, offer school trips designed to support outdoor learning for primary and secondary schools, as well as youth groups.
Each week-long course is designed to build confidence, resilience, and essential life skills that pupils can take with them back to the classroom and the outside world.
As a charity, Outward Bound helps to fund these residentials through generous support from donors and fundraising, making them more accessible to the schools and young people who need them most.
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What we offer
What to expect
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Financial support
As a charity, and thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we raise £4m every year, which means that over 80% of our education participants receive charitable funding.
It's our mission to make our courses available to as many young people as possible. We can’t let money stand in the way of over 16,000 disadvantaged participants from 400 schools, colleges, and youth groups coming on an Outward Bound course.
Enquire below to see if you qualify.
Did you know?
You can use pupil premium to cover some or all of the costs associated with residential trips, to ensure disadvantaged young people are not excluded from our life changing residentials.
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Life at our centres
Benefits to teachers
An Outward Bound residential can be just as rewarding for teachers and school staff as it is for young people.
Whether you lead a school or support students every day, it offers a chance to step back, reflect and grow professionally, while reconnecting with your own sense of adventure. Our research suggests that benefits for accompanying staff include:
Read articleOpportunities for professional development
Taking part in a residential gives teachers the chance to see new approaches in action, reflect on their own practice and return to the classroom with fresh ideas. Many staff say the experience helps them develop their teaching, as well as strengthen their organisation and leadership skills.
Positive impacts on wellbeing and job satisfaction
Over 70% of staff identified spending time in the outdoors and enjoying adventurous activities as ways in which they had benefitted personally from the course.
It was just the medicine the doctor ordered. I faced huge fears of my own and got to know the children on a closer, more personal level.
Teaching Assistant, North Pendle Community High School
Enhanced team-building and staff relationships
Residentials give teachers a chance to build stronger connections with colleagues across the school. Working together in a different setting helps uncover strengths that might not always show in day-to-day routines, often boosting morale and teamwork long after the trip ends.
Improved relationships with students
Away from the classroom, teachers often see new sides to their students. Shared challenges help break down barriers, strengthen trust and build stronger relationships. For senior leaders, it’s a rare chance to connect more closely with young people, with positive effects that often carry back into school life.
Increased understanding of young peoples’ needs
A residential offers teachers a valuable chance to connect with students beyond the classroom, deepening pastoral understanding and strengthening relationships. This insight helps tailor classroom support, recognise achievements, and boost student pride and engagement.
Following the residential, what we find is that students are more engaged in lessons. Their attendance has improved, their attitude to learning has increased and their relationships with teachers has improved.
Suzanne Moses, Youth Development Worker, Henry Tudor School
A Refreshing Perspective: The benefits of an Outward Bound residential for teachers
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