School Trips and Summer Holidays voted best things about school!

Published: Tue 20 Feb 2018 at 16:41

Updated: Tue 20 Feb 2018 at 16:55

With just over a week left to submit entries to our Ultimate School Trip competition, we have published research looking at the power of school trips in inspiring children to learn.

The poll of both children and parents reveals why we love school – and the differences between the generations show they’re a class apart!

When asked what their 30 favourite things about school were, parents remain believers in Pink Floyd’s famous lyric ‘We Don’t Need No Education’. Only one of their top 10 memories of school is related to learning, with summer holidays, school trips and the last day of term topping the list. Parents also highlighted early finishes, play time and snow days as amongst their 30 favourite memories of school!

Today’s children show more motivation, with hard work and learning far more likely to feature as their favourite things about school. They rank school trips as their favourite thing about school ahead of those old classics, the summer holidays and spending lunchtime with friends. Children also chose acing a spelling test, studying an interesting project, and working hard at lessons in their top 10 favourite things – revealing a far more conscientious approach to learning than their folks! They also highlight solving maths puzzles, science experiments and favourite teachers as amongst their 30 favourite things about school.

With children saying that school trips are their favourite thing about school, the research explores why, with 85% reporting that they enjoy them because they bring a subject to life. Nearly half (49%) say they make a previously difficult subject crystal-clear and two thirds (67%) will go away and study a chosen subject further in their own time following a school trip, demonstrating just how a school trip can unlock the magic of learning.

Continuing a school report they’d want to hide from their own folks, parents viewed school trips as a chance to take it easy, with nearly half stating that the best thing about a school trip was being with their mates (46%), 52% saying it was a chance for a day off, and 35% said it was an opportunity to ditch school uniform!

It isn’t all damning news for today’s parents though. The research shows that school trips did have a lasting impact on them, with a fifth (20%) saying they have chosen their career or taken up a hobby as a direct result of a school trip.

The research was commissioned by Jet2holidays to coincide with our Ultimate School Trip competition, which is giving pupils across the UK the chance to win the trip of a lifetime with their classmates. In total, nine classes and their teachers will spend a long weekend (Friday 20th April – Sunday 22nd April 2018) at Sol Katmandu Park & Resort in Majorca where they will take part in fun educational workshops. The workshops will focus on science, history, drama and crafts, as well as giving pupils all the excitement you would expect from a school trip overseas.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “Our research reveals some things that will never change about school, such as enjoying the summer holidays and spending time with school friends. However there are some striking differences between today’s children and their parents, particularly when it comes to learning and their attitudes towards it! It tells us that children want to feel inspired and reach their potential, and school trips clearly play a huge role in that. I’m sure our Ultimate School Trip to Majorca, which combines learning with adventure, will offer lucky winners all of those things and more.”

To find out more information or to enter the competition visit, please visit: http://ultimateschooltrip.jet2holidays.com/. Entries must be submitted by Wednesday 28th February 2018.

Best 30 things about being at school according to kids: