Through various visits/activities the school seeks to provide opportunities which particularly relate to specific, intended outcomes for young people in the context of the ‘Every Child Matters’ Government Agenda: Being Healthy; Staying Safe; Enjoying and Achieving.

The Ridings High School is very fortunate in having a substantial number of staff who are prepared to organise such visits, often impacting on their own time.

Educational Visits can make a significant contribution to students:

• Emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical development, including that of personal initiative, resourcefulness and self-reliance.
  
  
• Social development, including a sense of community life, camaraderie and unselfishness.
  
  
• Wider appreciation of a range of both different activities, and physical, cultural and social environments.
  
  

This is accomplished by seeking:

• To enhance children’s learning through the provision of both real or first hand experiences, and access to specialist expertise external to the school, not normally available within the classroom.
  
  
• To increase knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the local area and other areas that are different in nature and environment to our own.
  
  
• To develop an international perspective
  
  
• To further develop skills in observation, recording and reporting (Investigative skills)
  
  
• To assist in the development of self-esteem, confidence, independence, sense of adventure and sense of responsibility, particularly towards their own safety and the safety of others.
  
  
• To assist in the social development of students where they are given the opportunity to live and work with others in a situation different from the home environment, e.g. interdependence.
  
  
• Some visits reflect a required aspect of a public examination course. The only cost involved is a pre-determined contribution towards ‘board and lodging’.
  
  
• Many visits take place either totally or substantially out of school hours. These are voluntary and the total cost is covered by the participants.
  
  
• Where other visits occur during school time, (Key Stage 3 and 4) participation is on the basis of ‘voluntary contributions’. However, if there are insufficient contributions, the visit is unlikely to take place. [An individual pupil’s costs cannot be absorbed by other pupils.
  
  

Students will be informed of intended visits through the school’s daily notices and/or subject teachers. Application details will be provided. Where visits are over-subscribed, then participation will be on a ‘ballot’ basis. It should be noted that the school does reserve the right to deny participation for behavioural reasons.

Recent organised visits have included: international cultural exchanges; skiing and water sports; curricular support with international visits relating to Modern Foreign Languages, History, Vocational Business (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, USA) and ‘home’ visits to museums, art galleries, theatres, lectures, theme parks.

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