How A Noah’s Ark Field Trip Can Help Bring Learning to Life
6th Feb 2015
We all have fond memories of school trips from our childhoods – we can keenly recall the excitement and thrill of getting to leave the classroom behind and learn in a whole new environment for a day. What is now becoming clear is just how beneficial these kinds of field trip experiences are to kids’ development.
Studies have shown that pupils benefit from the break in their school routine, as well as the more hands-on and engaging (not to mention fun) learning opportunities that field trips can offer. Ofsted’s 2008 report ‘How far should you go?’ found that well-planned out-of-classroom trips improve pupils’ learning and help to re-engage the class members who are more difficult to motivate. Ofsted particularly noted the benefits of field trips for primary schools – “Within successful primary schools curriculums are enriched by first-hand experiences, including visits locally and further afield, contributions from adults with knowledge and skills that could enhance pupils’ learning, and an extensive range of extra-curricular activities.”
Educational charity The Outward Bound Trust echoed this positivity in their own study on the benefits of field trips, reporting that 72% of teachers observed improved awareness of the natural environment in their pupils on return to school. 60% of teachers also noticed an improvement in their pupils’ performance in the classroom. At Noah’s Ark, we offer a superb setting for an educational visit. What better place than a zoo to help pupils learn about the natural world? With a huge variety of animals from around the world, over 100 acres of beautiful countryside grounds and a team of enthusiastic, knowledgeable experts, we have everything you need for a valuable, awe-inspiring learning experience. Our ‘learning outside the classroom’ accredited education programme is full of great teaching resources to help communicate the National Curriculum in a unique, exciting way. We have all kinds of workshops, all delivered with a hands-on focus and with the opportunity to meet exciting live animals up close! We are more than happy to cater for bespoke requirements – give our educational team a call and we’ll come up with a workshop to suit any ages, abilities and learning objectives. If you’re a teacher and are considering a school trip to our zoo, we really encourage you to come along for a free familiarization visit. You can meet the team, tour the site and see what we have to offer. You’ll find more information on the Education section of our website. We look forward to arranging your school visit and hopefully inspiring some budding conservationists of the future!