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Girls’ Trips

With one of the world’s greatest capital cities, London, on our doorstep, our girls of every age have a wide variety of experiences to enjoy. This vibrant multicultural city, steeped in tradition and royal heritage, ensures our educational visits boast an insight into stunning architecture, historical landmarks and world-class museums.

To enhance the girls’ learning and stimulate their curiosity about the world, teachers have the freedom to arrange visits to complement their studies in school. Teachers book trips that are varied, exciting and often action-packed! They might include a visit to Buckingham Palace, exploring the Egyptian tombs at the Natural History Museum or, further afield, a visit to the Roman villa at Lullingstone. Girls are taken on these trips by their form teacher and this, we feel, strengthens their relationship and ensures that the girls gain the most from their experience. Local trips occur several times each year, extending further afield and culminating in our residential trips programme from Form 3. Pupils thrive on these shared experiences, near or far.

At EHTM Girls’ School we believe that trips, outings, workshops and visiting speakers are an essential and integral part of the curriculum, enriching all that we do here at school.

Visits are an important part of our work in the local community and we relish the opportunity to host a range of visitors in school from intrepid explorers to brilliant oompah bands – nothing is as exciting as a guest with all the gear!

Enhancing the learning that is done in the classroom is certainly a priority as is building friendship bonds to last a lifetime. With this in mind, we also take the girls in the Seniors (Years 3-6) on residential trips once a year. PGL uses the great outdoors to deliver unforgettable learning experiences for our girls, and Hilltop in North Norfolk for Form 3 is no exception! In Form 4 the girls head off to Ufton Court for a science and nature themed stay, and in Form 5 the girls travel to Osmington Bay in Dorset as they learn first-hand about the prehistoric coastline. Then as a final adventure, our Form 6 girls head off to Paris for the week in the summer term to enjoy the many cultural treats the French capital has to offer.

Parents’ permission is sought and required, and this is done through an annual consent form. All charges for trips and workshops are included in the school fee, with the exception of residential trips.

Recently a Year 1 girl was overheard telling a KG girl, “Trips really are the best thing!” We could not agree more, and with visits to Kew Gardens, the Tower of London, and Hobbledown Farm it is easy to see why.

We combine fun and learning activities by organising a variety of residential trips and workshops for the girls in Years 3-6.

Click on the dropdown options to find out more about each year group’s trips.

Year 3

The residential trip in Year 3 supports the academic learning within the classroom and also helps the girls to develop key character traits and skills that supplement all areas of their learning. The girls have left the comfort of the juniors and become seniors; their classes have been mixed and become split no longer by birth but as two mixed ability groups. So Hilltop provides the perfect opportunity to cement their friendships as a cohort.

Heading off for their first residential trip is a little daunting for some but the after-effect is always much excitement and tales of an exhilarating experience with memories to last a lifetime! The girls spend two nights away together with the Year 3 boys from the Pre-Prep, exploring the Norfolk coast and challenging themselves with many new outdoor pursuits. The motto is “challenge by choice” and the girls certainly use myriad character traits to climb walls, jump off zip wires and complete collaborative tasks. Drinking hot chocolate and dancing at the disco are just a couple of the fun evening pursuits on the trip. The girls quickly adapt to their new environment and prove to all, how independent and grown-up they have become!

Year 4

The Year 4 girls spend three wonderful days in the summer term at Ufton Court. This residential trip is situated in rural Berkshire, based in and around the house and grounds of the Grade 1 listed Ufton Court.

All the learning takes place outdoors and has more of a science flavour to it. The activities include woodland walks, invertebrate hunts, making food chains, and real-life camouflage situations where the girls have to camouflage themselves with ponchos and different coloured paints to evade capture.

The girls have sole access of the newly built log cabins and have the freedom to roam within the boundaries set by the teachers. They develop not only their scientific skills but also important life skills such as confidence building, independence and making their own beds!

The girls also enjoy making their own bird feeder from sticks they have foraged in the woods and then carefully nailing them together, demonstrating patience and teamwork.

There are plenty of opportunities for team building too, with access to a high and low ropes course!

The girls get so much out of this residential trip and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Year 5

Again, the trips and workshops in Year 5 support the academic learning within the classroom and also help the girls to develop key character traits and skills that supplement all areas of their learning. In the autumn term, the girls spend a week at Osmington Bay PGL Centre in Dorset. The trip focuses on first-hand coastal fieldwork combing human geography – understanding trade and businesses in Weymouth – and physical geography – the impact of erosion on the Jurassic coast. The girls also experience several outward-bound-type activities in their week away, including climbing, kayaking and team building challenges.

In the spring term the Year 5 girls visit Downe House to experience a day at a senior school. This invaluable experience allows the girls to see what a senior boarding school is like and to take part in a drama workshop with girls from parallel schools. This is a brilliant introduction to life after Eaton House!

Finally, in the summer term, the Year 5 girls take part in a workshop linked to their history work on the Victorians. Their classroom is transformed into a Victorian schoolhouse and the Victorian school inspector comes to visit for the day. Chalks and slate replace pens and paper and the girls learn at first hand what it would have been like to attend school in Victorian times.

Year 6

Apart from the varied trips and activities the Year 6 girls embark on in their final year with us the highlight is often Paris! Madame Nicky organises the Year 6 trip to Paris every year at the beginning of the summer term. Along with the Year 6 form teacher, the girls stay at the Château Romaine. This trip incorporates many Paris attractions, entertaining and cultural, and will certainly aid with their French language skills. All the activities the girls enjoy are in French and are led by local qualified instructors. The girls head off to the market in Brie-Comte-Robert to buy their own lunch. They have a budget which they need to adhere to and then they come back to prepare and present their creations to each other in French.

The girls scale the dizzy heights of the Eiffel Tower and enjoy the sights of Paris from the top deck of the Bateau Mouche. They whizz around the Louvre and visit the Mona Lisa in all her glory, then visit the sanctuary of Montmatre. Later that week they visit a French supermarché and readily spend their euros. The girls delight in the PGL activities at the centre as well as taste their first snails, thankfully before their trip to a local snail farm! The trip is certainly a wonderful and fitting end to a fantastic seven years with us.

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