Secondary Students

Planning school excursions for secondary students

In many ways, planning an excursion for secondary students can be significantly easier than planning a primary excursion. Secondary school pupils generally require much less supervision and are less likely to get tired and cranky or lose their lunch money.

On the other hand, depending on the age and maturity of your students, secondary excursions can also be marred by lack of enthusiasm or more serious misbehaviour like smoking – or even ditching the outing altogether.

Remember that most secondary students look upon school excursions primarily as a chance to get away of the classroom and hang out with their friends. An excursion that allows your students some freedom and fun – in amongst the education or skill-building you have planned for them – is more likely to result in an enjoyable and valuable experience for everyone involved.

Government policy and your school’s own procedures will dictate some of your planning, but we’ve put together a few handy tips to help get you started:

Start early

It seems obvious, but if you start planning well ahead of time you’ll not only reduce your stress levels, you’re also much more likely to secure the date of your choice. Some schools book their excursions in more than a year in advance, so you need to move quickly to ensure you get a spot.

Communication with parents

Your school will most likely have policies around obtaining parental consent; in addition to the specific requirements of the school, you should request the following information:

student’s name and address, full contact and emergency details and contact details of their doctor
all allergies and relevant medical history, including the location, dosage and administration instructions of medication

Your letter should also outline the following details for the parents:

suggested equipment, clothing and footwear
guidelines on the supply and amount of money
expected behaviour of students (including rules on smoking and drinking as appropriate)
notification that if a student breaks the rules of the visit, parents may be required to collect the pupil from the excursion at their own expense

Behaviour

Don’t overlook bad behaviour from secondary students on excursions. Before the day, remind your students that they are representatives of your school and community, and outline expected standards of behaviour and consequences for rule breaking.

Plan for emergencies

Brief your planning team or supervising teachers on strategies for dealing with crises, such as illness, minor or major injury, lost students and emergency evacuation plans. Ensure you have full first aid provisions, as well details of emergency services in the area and means of contacting them.

Have fun

If you’ve done the preparation, enlisted some good supervisors and planned the excursion around enjoyment as well as learning, your day should go relatively smoothly. Try to relax and have fun – a secondary school excursion can be a great bonding experience for teachers and their students, as well as a valuable educational and social tool.

Resources

All states and territories in Australia have guidelines and procedures covering school excursions.

South Australia – Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS)
New South Wales – Department of Education and Training
Victoria – Safety Guidelines for Education Outdoors
Queensland – Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS)
Tasmania – The Department of Education
Australian Capital Territory – The Department of Education and Training
Western Australia – West Australian Department of Education
Northern Territory – Department of Education and Training