The School offers a variety of exciting trips and expeditions throughout the year. These can be organised through the boarding house, by subject teachers, the sports department, and as a Ceremonial event or as part of our outdoor leadership and CCF programmes. Payments for trips vary, but parents are always asked for permission before a student can take part.

Weekend House Activities – these include trips to the cinema, bowling, Dover and Canterbury visits, Bluewater shopping trips and house dinners (Christmas and end of year).

Academic Trips – these range from science expeditions, theatre trips and photography days out, to maths workshops, cultural food trips and national competitions.

Recent trips have been to fieldwork visits to the Wildwood Trust, geography field trips around the Kent coast and a psychology seminar. English and drama trips are often organised to Canterbury’s Marlowe and Gulbenkian Theatres, as well as the West End.

Overseas trips are organised to Spain and France as part of the modern foreign language curriculum.

Ceremonial Duties – selected Junior students are invited every year to the Chelsea Hospital Founder’s Day, while senior students provide a Guard of Honour for the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in London’s Westminster Abbey. Please visit the ceremonial page for more information.

Sports Trips – students who are part of a sports team will have the opportunity to attend away matches, regional and national competitions. The rugby teams are regularly coached by staff from the Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Union Club and have visited Welford Road, home of the Leicester Tigers Rugby Club. Last year the hockey students were fortunate enough to go on a week-long tour to Holland to play various Dutch teams to enhance their skills.

Outdoor Leadership and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – Every student takes the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Year 9, learning a new skill, volunteering and completing an expedition where they spend a week away engaged in camp craft and navigation training, kayaking, sailing, climbing, abseiling and two days of hiking / camping. The School can fully equip 100 students for adventure training and overnight camping (everything except boots!). Students are also encouraged to continue onto the Silver and Gold Awards. Our School routinely achieves the most Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards in the local area and on occasion hosts the area awards ceremony.

Adventure training

All students from Year 7 to Year 13 are able to take part in outdoor education / adventure training during term-time and holidays; and all students embark on a progressive programme of outdoor activities enabling them to learn vital leadership and team building skills, overcoming challenges, confronting fears and developing important life skills.

These trips and activities also provide an opportunity for staff to interact with the students outside of the classroom and learn new skills for themselves. For many students, this is their first experience of outdoor education and whets their appetite for more as they enjoy walking, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, raft building/racing, high ropes course, trapeze, tree climbing, gorge walking, mountain biking, climbing, abseiling, and more.

Overseas Expedition

Every 2 years the School organise an overseas expedition. This is run during the summer holidays and can range from 2–4 weeks. The next expedition will be in the summer of 2024 and will take place in Cambodia, consisting of exploring and travelling around the country, taking part in work programmes and culminating in a sub-aqua expedition.