What Makes A Wildchild School Residential Trip So Special?

No more mindless rushing between school trip activities and more time spent learning outdoors. With Wildchild, we take the time to build strong relationships and a deep love of nature. Let’s design a School Residential Trip to suit the needs of your students.

Many schools come to us for their school residential trips for  the first time after years of using big trip providers. They’re looking for something different from the rushed, impersonal experience of being one of many other school parties. With Wildchild, you’ll find the perfect school trip, personalised for you, all within an hour of central London.

We’re proud to stand out from the rest with our award-winning school residential trips.

Our school residential trips are all about you

At Wildchild we don’t cram in lots of schools at the same time. You’ll never be queuing up waiting for activities or worried about missing your time slot. You’re more than just a number to us.

You are the only school on our site.

That gives us the chance to get to know you and build relationships with your students. You’ll see your children growing in confidence, taking risks, and pushing themselves further because they’ve got strong, trusting relationships with our trip leaders. We want every child to have the chance to shine.

With the big providers, every trip’s the same, so children learn nothing new. They experience the same activities whether they go in year 3 or year 7! That’s why Wildchild offers a range of options to suit the needs of different age groups with no worry they’ve done it all before.

“We switched to using Wildchild as our Year 4 school residential trip recently and have been incredibly impressed with the service offered. Rebooking for this year and next year was a non-negotiable for us! I would not hesitate to recommend them and can’t wait to return!” Fairlands Primary School

A forest schools approach to learning

Wildchild school residential trips aren’t just about high-thrill activities. We design our adventures inspired by the principles of forest schools teaching. Activities are carefully planned to develop problem-solving skills, teamwork, and resilience. Your students overcome difficulties and see themselves as successful learners, proud of their abilities–everything you want them to show back in the classroom.

Our approach is:

• Hands on and enquiry-led learning
• Problem solving so children develop resilience and experience success
• Focused on teamwork and building your school community
• Experiencing nature in our beautiful woodland environment
• Time to reflect on learning and personal growth

We give your students a deeper appreciation of nature with a range of wild activities and bushcraft teaching. They’ll spend time outdoors connecting with nature. Let them find new talents to become creative, confident, and independent learners.

Many children have never had the freedom to play in woodlands and wild spaces. They learnt on screens during the COVID-19 lockdowns. They need to experience the joy of getting muddy and the chance to be creative outside of the classroom. They’ve never needed it more.

“We were impressed with the practical nature of tasks rather than all about thrill-seeking. We loved the nature of our time, smooth transitions and patient, caring staff.” Allfarthing Primary School

Trained leaders with you from breakfast to bedtime

Our school residential trips team all share the Wildchild ethos. As well as being superbly trained and professional, we select them for their passion, dedication and commitment to making each child’s experience memorable and inspiring.  We’re very proud of the positive feedback and testimonials we receive from schools returning year and year, crediting the personalised service and dedication of our staff.

“All the instructors we had were amazing and nothing was too much trouble. Loved them! They’ve made our experience fab”.  Manor Farm Primary School

Less time rushing means more time learning

If you’ve been on a school residential trip with one of the big providers, you’ve probably returned home exhausted! Rushing between activities, finding your own way about, meeting instructors you never see again. How much do children get out of that experience?

At Wildchild, children have great fun and enjoy a wide range of high-thrill activities, but there’s time to think and learn too. They’re more reflective when they return to school. It’s more about ‘What did we learn?’ than just ‘What’s next?’

You don’t need to worry about navigating our extensive woodlands and missing events because your instructors spend all their time with you. You’re in safe hands so you can join in with the fun. They’ll lead all your activities and even light your campfire at the end of the day.

“Our children thoroughly enjoyed the variety of activities, which were run by fun-loving team members, who ensured all children were encouraged and safe. We, as a school, would recommend a visit by any school—we were so impressed we have booked again.” De Havilland Primary School

Flexible choices

Many schools turn to us because we offer a wide range of flexible residential trip options. Most providers demand a two-night minimum stay. At Wildchild, we want you to find the perfect trip to suit your time and budget, from one day adventures to three-night residential stays. We’ve got the perfect option for every age group from KS1-KS3 students.

We offer:

• Day Trips: Adventure days and bushcraft experiences for all ages
• One-Night Stays: An exciting introduction to being away from home
• 2 and 3-Night Residentials: Experience everything Wildchild offers

Shorter one and two-night residential school trips can offer all the excitement of longer residential stays. You’ll still enjoy action-packed days filled with adventurous activities. And, as we’re so close to home, no long travel times to worry about.

Great accommodation options

Being close to London, there are no wasted days cooped up on a coach and huge cost savings on travel. Our two beautiful woodland centres are easily accessible from London and the South East. Once you’ve arrived, you’ll never believe you’re only an hour from Central London.

In warmer months, choose to sleep in our spacious bell tents, complete with real bunk beds and flooring so everyone stays warm and dry. It gives your students a real camping experience in a comfortable, manageable way. They’ll love sharing a tent with their friends. When it’s colder outside, our indoor accommodation means you’ll have fun, whatever the weather.

“The outdoor experience is so good for our children who have never camped before. The staff were accommodating, and it was obvious that their priority was for everyone to have a really good experience.” Edmonton Primary School.

The campfire experience

With all the excitement of a Wildchild adventure, it might surprise you that for many children, time around the campfire is the highlight of their trip. It’s time to talk, sing, and tell stories together with toasted marshmallows and hot chocolate. Your trip leaders run everything so you can relax and enjoy an opportunity to get to know your students better and see them differently to the classroom.

A campfire is the perfect end to a day at Wildchild. Children build stronger bonds and friendships, so they work better together as a class back at school. It’s a time to learn from each other, build a school community, and create memories that last a lifetime.

“It was the wholesome, outdoorsy experience these kids desperately need while growing up in London.” Hugh Myddleton Primary School

An independent business that cares

Wildchild feels like a family, not a huge faceless organisation. That lets us get to know you and make sure your school residential trip meets the needs of your students. We offer hands-on support to help you plan your trip. We’ll even come to your parent meetings to show them what a Wildchild adventure is like.

You won’t be stuck with helpline numbers and enquiry desks because we’re easy to get hold of. We’re happy to talk on the phone, answer your emails, and welcome you to visit our sites to see what Wildchild has to offer.

We care deeply about you having the best trip experience. That’s why so many schools book to return year after year. Make your next school residential trip a Wildchild adventure.

“Engaging, challenging, nurturing, taking us all out of our comfort zones, connected to the environment”.  Streatham & Clapham, Year 4