4. Do you thing it was VFM (Value for Money)?
This was a good question to ask as it analyses the trip as a whole and whether it would be a good idea to do it again or at least organise a similar trip. I think it was value for money considering the same trip to Barcelona would have cost £400+ which didn’t include spending money etc. This is why I would recommend this trip to anyone who is thinking about going.
Jamie Porritt’s Account : Analysis of Results (Continued)
5. What would you do different if you could organise it again?
This chart just confirms what it says in the chart at the top of the page. We could have organised the food simulation better. The last resort would have been to bring extra money to buy food while you are out. Out of better businesses and better accommodation I would make the accommodation my top priority. This was because we were meant to be sharing three to a room but when we arrived we were only told two to a room, we should make sure this was sorted before we left.
6. What would you like to have done that we didn’t do on the trip?
Most people would have liked to stay longer, this was because it was good value for money in the first place and we would have got a chance to visit the EU headquarters which was open for a tour the day after we left. I don’t think the supervisors would have let us stay longer so we could do our shopping.
From the extract above I can see what problems occurred and what type of flaws that could have been rectified whilst being planned, although on the whole the trip seemed to be a strong success. This type of research is quite useful as the tour operator we are using is the same as the one they used last year. Therefore this can give us some indication into what things need to be sorted out before the trip commences. This has helped us towards planning the trip by recognizing faults that happened on last years trip (to Brussels) and to make sure that these problems do not reoccur this year, although some of the research has allowed us to see what the students preferred on the trip, for instance many students said that the best part of their trip was ‘meeting new people’, this was the students that went on the trip but were in other classes or year groups, therefore this suggests that we would gather a mixture of students from different classes and year groups for this years trip.
A fault which was recognized was the hospitality on the trip, mainly focusing on the food, students felt that this was quite poor, therefore we must do research into the standards of food found in Prague. The results also suggested that the students wanted to stay longer on the trip; this must be looked into when we plan the trip, although the teachers tend to only want to spend no more than 4 days on a trip. The research gathered was Quantitative data; therefore accurate statistics were used to support suggestions that can be used as part of the research for planning the event, this type of research tends to be more reliable because a number of students were providing their personal opinions, this rules out the research being biased.
Teachers Opinion about Previous Trip
Mrs Lynne Johnson says:
“Last years trip was a success compared to previous trips, as we had enough students go. The day-trips gave us a great experience on how International businesses operate in contrast to British businesses. The student’s behavior was extremely good and I hope this year is an equal success”
This resource is Qualitative data, it provides a personal opinion, rather than a number of peoples opinions. This is not as reliable as Quantitative data (like Jamie Porritt’s questionnaire) as a biased opinion may exist. Although I fell that this resource was quite useful because it tells me what a teacher felt about a similar trip that happened last year, having the majority of the same students attending this year’s trip gives a positive image on the sort of behavior that we will be expecting. It also tells us that the tour operator, NST, did quite well considering Mrs. Johnson’s opinion.
I will now conduct other secondary research by looking on the BBC’s website and the government’s website for further information.
Extract from the BBC’s Website Regarding School Trips
This type of research is Qualitative data. Dr. Peacock from Exeter University suggests that school trips are only successful if the teaching support on the trip was of good quality.
This suggests that our school trip should have qualified teachers which have significant experience in co-coordinating and visiting international businesses.
Overall this shows that it would be beneficial for us to organize a trip because it recommends that students that attend school trips can get a ‘valuable learning experience’, this would be beneficial as it may boost student’s enthusiasm to continue studying business.
Teachers told: bring back adventure
On Tuesday Alan Johnson, the education secretary, will announce £2.7m dedicated to putting school trips at the top of the agenda. He will also reveal research that confirms many teachers fear taking on responsibility for outings because of the threat of litigation. Reforms will be aimed at reassuring teachers and will point out that incidents are rare and prosecutions are even less common.
Among the new policies will be the formation of an independent council dedicated to promoting the school trip. Teachers will be given special training, schools will receive 'out and about' packs and from next year they will face Ofsted inspections about their excursions.
'Learning outside the classroom should be at the heart of every school's curriculum and ethos,' said Johnson. 'Educational visits and even outdoor classes in schools' own grounds bring learning to life, inspiring and motivating children to put their knowledge to the test and expand their minds.
'The new council will give schools clear advice and information to plan, fund and evaluate all their education activities outside the classroom,' he said. Johnson will also try to allay fears among parents and teachers who have read about teenagers being killed and staff prosecuted.
Resource: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1957283,00.html (19/12/07)
This resource is Qualitative data as it illustrates plans from the government to regenerate teachers and schools thoughts on educational trips. It also shows that schools will be provided with special training and Ofsted will conduct inspections on schools concerning its excursions. This resource was published on 26/11/06 (a year ago), therefore these plans should have by now been executed and are currently running.
I think this resource was quite helpful because the education secretary, Alan Johnson suggests that it inspires and motivates students to put their knowledge to the test and expand their minds. This continues to recommend my school to go on this trip as it could be relevant to our education needs.
Now I have found two good resources from the internet, I want to look at a number of ‘paper-based’ resources. I think it would be useful to look and observe information from several educational tour operators.
The following ‘paper-based’ brochure which the school has includes:
- European Study Tours – Tailor-made Travel Europe & Worldwide 07/08
- Study Experiences – Business Studies Academic Year 2007 – 2008
- The Travel Adventure – The Business of Travel
- TE Study Trips Brochure 2007 – 2008
- EF Educational Tours 2008/2009/2010 International Travel for Schools
When looking on these, I decided to look at other businesses that operate educational tours. I found another 6 businesses that offered these types of tours. From this information I can confirm that there is a strong demand for this type of school trip, therefore this proves these business studies trips are feasible and that many other schools use these.
Overall the secondary research I have collected has been found to be very resourceful, as it allows the students and teachers to be aware of the number of constraints there are to consider judging if a trip is feasible. The secondary resources have proved to be reliable, the first one looks at a questionnaire from students that attended last years business trip, this proves to be reliable because a range of students were respondents to the questionnaire. This was vital as the company that organized last year’s trip to Brussels is the same company we are dealing with this year. The two resources from the internet come from websites that are less likely to be biased and the last set of resources that included looking at a number of tour operators brochures suggested that there was a strong demand for school trips, which shows that school trips are feasible.
In conclusion the research I have produced has allowed me to consider the feasibility of hosting a trip to Prague. With every piece of research, I have checked to see if the research has met any of my aims, after looking at my primary research (questionnaire) I can see that the majority of students want to see local businesses, therefore if we decided to take the students to the local businesses on the trip it would met the first aim ‘to educate the students about international business’. The questionnaire also mentioned that the majority of the students wanted to go to clubs, if we took students to local clubs we would meet the forth aim ‘to make the trip exciting’. The secondary research also met an aim, Jamie Porritt’s questionnaire (a student from last years trip) asked students if they felt that last years trip was good value for money, in return the majority of the students replied ‘yes’, therefore this indicates that last years trip was feasible and if this years trip was equally as good we would meet the third aim which was ‘to provide the event at a satisfactory price’. I personally recommend the trip should go ahead as it will educate, inspire, enthusiast, and encourage students to open their minds. Both types of research, primary and secondary, suggests that the trip is feasible, the government, and past teachers have also recommended it.
Task 2: Planning the Event
Once a school event has been approved to be feasible, effective planning and sufficient monitoring and communication must be established to enhance the full success of the trip. Many legal and ethical constraints must be considered, if these constraints are not properly checked it could cause several problems regarding health and safety, ineffective education, student motivation, and education standards (i.e. school and government policies).
The Academy recognises the vast benefits to be resulting from a range of learning experiences away from the academy campus, both in the UK and internationally.
- Students can gain first hand experience of a language and culture which they are studying in the classroom.
- Their understanding of a topic or theme can be enhanced;
- Their interest and enjoyment of their studies can be stimulated.
- Their sense of independence, their personal development and their notions of responsibility for themselves and for other are enhanced.
I will first outline each planning issues, these are as follows:
- Academy Procedures
- Risk Assessment
- Physical Resources required
- Timeline / Planning
- Legal Constraints
- Staff Attendance
- Management Documents
- Communication
I will now discuss all of these points in greater detail.
The Academy has several procedures that are in place to avoid any problems that could affect the normal operation of the Academy. These procedures were set up by the SLT (Senior Leadership Team), the senior teachers at the school.
One of the major procedures is the timing of the event, the Academy rules state that visits that affect other curriculum areas should not occur during the academic year:
- The first and last weeks of the module
- Work experience
- Internal and external examinations
- Other times that the SLT (Senior Leadership Team) may find unsuitable
Academy Procedures (Continued)
If a teacher wishes to plan an Academy visit, they must first check the Academy’s academic calendar before submitting any notice of absence for the visit. The teachers must then provide a plan to a member of the SLT that will then discuss the proposed trip in their next meeting. If the SLT approve the proposal, the teachers are allowed to further plan the trip for the dates approved. Although even if the plan is sanctioned by the SLT, the principle and/or governors (who have the highest authority) may decline against the trips proposal).
If the event is not planned in time for the Academy’s calendar all proposals must be submitted to the Academy’s Curriculum Coordinator, Mr. Finnegan (also a member of SLT), he will then submit the proposal to the SLT for special consideration. Although this has not happened to us because we booked off the time at the start of the academic year. From this point no visits can continue it has been confirmed that the event can take place by the SLT. Although the business department received their confirmation a few days after the class decided to go to Prague.
This is an extract from the ATL (education union) website.
“There are no legal requirements and the concept of reasonableness is important. Supervision should be based on a reasonable judgment of the numbers and expertise of adult supervisors that will be necessary, taking into account the nature and hazards of the trip, and the number, age, sex and aptitudes of the students. ”
Source: http://www.atl.org.uk/atl_en/help/ (13/12/07)
This suggests that it’s the responsibility of the school to decide what the teacher/student ratios should be, although good reasoning should be established for the agreed number.
The academy has its own guide line for teacher/student ratio, they believe that the teacher/student ratio of 1:15 should be produced on normal trips; adventure trips that could cause further hazard should have a teacher/student ratio of 1:10. They also have a set rule that the party leader must always be a member of the SLT, this is because a superior member of the school can manage the trip, and that a least one member of staff is adequately trained to assist any emergency or significant problems on the trip.
This is an extract from ATL, showing a statement presented by the DfES.
“The duty of care enshrined in the principle of being in loco partentis should not be taken lightly, for once it is assumed, it cannot be set aside until the young people are returned to the care of their parents. Those who undertake this responsibility must be required to exercise the control which their role requires.”
Source: (13/12/07)
This basically means that the staff attending the trip have the responsibility of ensuring that the students are safe in all aspects of the trip. This has to be prioritised as individual students may have certain medical and behaviour problems. Therefore a number of formal duties must be considered.
Duties involved are:
- Obtain approval for the trip from higher school management
- Undertake or secure a risk assessment of the proposed trip
- Decide what the staffing, supervision and training needs are
- Ensure that the trip is insured adequately
- Plan transport arrangements
- Inform parents and obtain parental and medical consent
- Produce a set of rules for students to adhere by
- Plan contingency and emergency arrangements.
I will look at each of the points listed above, and endeavor what type of planning the Academy takes into consideration in relation to the points.
Obtaining Approval from Higher School Management
An offsite activity record must be completed to notify the SLT what type of event is taking place. This form must ideally hand in before the next academic year starts, although it can be handed in after (in our case it was after). The form is shown below.
THE LEIGH TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY
Please fill out all the information required below in as much detail as possible, please enclose your blue notice of absence form, and the proposal of the trip. Please hand this form back to a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Secure Risk Assessment for the Trip
The party leader must present a detailed risk assessment to the SLT, providing relevant information regarding any possible risks that could cause a hazard during the trip. The benefits of a risk assessment include:
- Reduces the risks involved with decisions making
- Helps in establishing priorities particularly if an event is complex to stage
- Indicates the likelihood and influence of particular threats
- Helps to establish the likely results of particular strategies
When undertaking a risk assessment everything must be looked at critically because all aspects carry some form of risk. Particularly those that can be damaged if something goes wrong. When looking at potential risks, a model must be observed and used to determine a successful solution. An example model is shown below.
Model of Risk Assessment
Phase 1 Identify Possible Risks
Phase 2 Identify How The Risks Might Affect The Event
Phase 3 Evaluate The Risks and Undertake Tactic That Would Minimize The Impact
Phase 4 Document and Review Findings
Phase 5 Review and Monitor The Risk Assessment
- We had to make sure that when we were on the trip the students wouldn’t be doing any dangerous activities (i.e. risk of injury, death, etc).
- We had to make sure that the students going on the trip were sensible and well behaved (i.e. Post 16’s are more mature than a yr.7 group).
- We had to make sure that the transportation going to a destination is safe (i.e. health and safety regulations).
- The destination was safe and fit for purpose; this will again eliminate major risks (i.e. staying in an ATOL approved hotel, using a safe airline).
Risk Assessment
The risk assessment will be used in such emergencies, and will provide detailed information on how to rectify any risks that may take place.
Staff Needs and Requirements
This task is particularly important as the staff who are attending this will require specific resources provided by both students and the school to make sure they can operate the trip. These needs include physical resources (e.g. mobile telephone) and logical resources (e.g. an agreement – ‘Code of Conduct’). I will first identify all of the staff physical resources below.
*Mobile telephones will be carried by both teachers, and each group of 4 students should carry at least one mobile telephone with them with sufficient credit on, this allows them to make calls to staff, as well as required contacts.
The staff also requires logical resources that are there to reassure them that the trip is operating successfully and safely. Each logical resource is discussed on the next page.
Logical Resources
These are the following logical resources required for the trip.
- Insurance
- ‘Code of Conduct’ from students
- Telephone Tree
I will now discuss each of the following points listed above in much greater detail.
Insurance
Insurance is very important when it comes to organizing an event, especially when it’s in another country where the visitors are not particular with the destinations surroundings.
Insurance is defined as a policy that provides compensation for specific losses in exchange for a periodic payment, also referred as a ‘Premium’. Although there are several different types of insurance policies, therefore it is important to observe each policy and work out which ones would be the best to have.
The different types of insurance:
Reimburses money back to the insured for any type of travel, accommodation, or event that is cancelled or delayed.
-
Personal Possessions
Reimburses money back to the insured that looses or gets any of their personal possessions stolen.
Insurance (Continued)
-
Loss of Money Insurance
Reimburses money back to the insured that has their money stolen.
- Emergency Medical Insurance
Pays for any charges that may occur from using any emergency medical treatment whilst travelling.
-
Personal Liability Insurance
Protects the insured from any damage that they cause that was done accidentally, such as accidentally breaking a hotel asset.
-
Organizers Liability Insurance
Protects the organizer of the event from any problems that the tour operator may cause, such as giving us an incorrect itinerary which causes corruption on the trip.
- Legal Advice and Expenses
Pays for any solicitors bills and/or charges that may occur due to foreign legislation, for example any legal advice required for an insurer that gets arrested.
I will now discuss in detail the essential insurance requires that the academy will require whilst travelling to Prague.
Essential Insurance
This is required because if any thing was cancelled or delayed, such as the coach or airplane, unexpected expenses may accumulate such as food and temporary accommodation.
- Personal Liability Insurance
This is required because if any of the insured cause sustainable damage that mounts, ridiculous expenses may accumulate, such as accidentally damaging machinery on an excursion (e.g. to Skoda).
- Organizers Liability Insurance
This is not required by us, although NST Tour Group (our tour operator) will have this insurance just incase they cause any problems, whilst planning, or during the trip. An example is illustrating wrong information that misinforms us (the customer) on hotel facilities.
Insurance (Continued)
Non-Essential Insurance
- Personal Possessions Insurance
This is not required as we have secure hotel rooms that allows us to keep our possessions safe at all times. All expensive and valuable possessions can be safely kept in the hotels fire safe. Any possessions that are lost or stolen in our hotel rooms is covered by the hotels insurance. Most people’s home insurance also covers this type of loss.
This is not required as we won’t be taking significant amounts of money on the trip, even when we go out there will be rules set in place for students to take out certain amounts each time, so even if a student’s gets assaulted and has their money stolen its only a small percentage of all the money they took with them on the trip. Any significant amounts of money will always be out in the hotels safe for extra security.
- Legal Advice and Expenses
This is not required as the trip will only consist of a few days, as Prague is apart of the European Union all laws and regulations are very similar to Britain, therefore the students and teachers are already familiar with the laws abroad. As Prague is only a 2 hour flight away from the UK it is easy to get parents or any legal support from home.
I will now talk about the insurance policies which are available to us for this trip to Prague.
There are two forms of insurance which this trip is covered by, the first is the standard school insurance which is provided by ZURICH, which covers some aspect of the trip, but has a few limitations, these include:
- Motorcycling – misusing the vehicles in anyway (e.g. racing)
- Intoxication illegal drugs (also through Sexual Transmitted Diseases)
- Deliberate exposure to unnecessary danger yourself or others (except in an attempt to save a human life)
- Any person that goes on the trip that has been advised not to by medical staff
The second form of insurance is provided by NST Travel Group (included in overall cost). This covers practically everything. A copy of the NST Group Travel Insurance Policy Summary can be found in the appendix at the back of this project.
Code of Conduct (for students)
The academy also recommends that a ‘Code of Conduct’ should be produced for the students, this provision a set of rules that the students must consent to prior to the start of the event. This must be signed by the complying students as well as their parents. This was the ‘Code of Conduct’ that was made for our trip.
THE LEIGH TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY
Code of Conduct
All students must read the following rules and sign this declaration to declare that they will at all time on the trip adhere by these rules.
Code of Conduct (Continued)
You must also allow the supervisors on the trip (Mrs. L. Johnson and Dr. Ankerson) to be your superiors throughout the trip, which therefore have overall authority over yourselves. Please make sure you and your parents sign and date prior to the date of the event.
- No smoking whatsoever on the trip (Even if your 18 or over)
- No drinking alcohol on the trip (Even if your 18 or over)
- Students must accept set bedtimes, this is to ensure that all the students are fit and well the next day
- Hotel rooms should be kept to a clean state. Failure to do so could result in withdrawal of evening activities
- Other students / guests on the trip should be treated with respect
- The coach must also be kept to a clean and sufficient standard, the driver should also be treated with respect and politeness at all times
- Students must listen upon instructions given by teachers on the trip, and any other managerial staff (e.g. hotel staff)
- Students must attend all set meal times
- Students must not bring back any illegal articles
Student Signature Parent Signature Date
___________________ ___________________ ___________________
All the students have to sign this ‘code of conduct’, if they don’t decline to sign this form, they will be withdrawn from the trip.
Telephone Tree
A telephone tree was first used three years ago with another school trip, it was primarily used to save money for the students, as well as the teachers communicating abroad. It works like a chain, the first intermediary person is Mrs. Johnson who calls two parents, then those two parents contact two parents each, and the second set of parents call another two parents; this cascades throughout to construct a tree-like diagram. As our group had a large number of students attending we decided to split the contacts into two groups (group a & b), this made each tree smaller, which made it simpler to operate. Below shows a screenshot of the telephone tree, the original diagram can be found in the back of this unit in the appendix.
Student Needs
This is also a requirement for the success of the trip, this is required as parents and even students want reassurance that the staffs that are taking them are fully qualified and safe. There are many legal regulations that are put in place to make sure the protection of children is to its highest standard. Below is an extract from the Child Protect Act (1989).
“The Children Act 1989 is based upon the belief that children are generally best looked after within the family, with both parents playing a full part and without resort to legal proceedings. The welfare of the children is the paramount consideration.”
Source: http://www.fnf.org.uk/law-policy/the-children-act-1989 (13/12/07)
Student Needs (Continued)
The extract allows me to recognize the acts purpose. This Act relates to the trip as the teachers have the responsibility (with permission from parents) to take care of us. The Academy must also be aware of this Act because they need to know who’s on the child protection list, in regards to students. Students can be on the list for the following reasons, such as, malnutrition, self-harmers, strange home-life, sexually abused, mentally and physically abused.
Whilst on the trip teachers are in loco parentis. Although for data protection reasons students are not allowed to see the academy’s child protection policy or any students that are involved with the register.
Many parents also want reassurance that the staff have been checked out that they have no history involving paedophilia or abuse. These checks are usually conducted with the Criminal Records Bureau, although these checks are usually done at the beginning of each academic year, where the academy submits CRB checks to the Bureau. All of the teachers successfully passed these checks in September 2006.
Many parents also ask that the staff that go on the trip are fully qualified with DFeS (Department for Education and Skills) by having QTS (Qualified Teacher Status). They must also have first aid training, and appropriate managerial training. Only one of the two teachers that are attending the trip need to have managerial training, Dr. Colin Ankerson had this training when he became a member of the SLT. It is also apart of LEA (Local Education Authority) regulations that the teaching staff that attend such trips must be of both genders (male and female), this is so that any problems that arise that are dependant on confidentiality among sexes can be provided.
Many students also feel comfortable with teachers they have worked with in the past, or know them very well (i.e. school status). This makes it easier for students to get along with the complying staff. For us it was quite easy as Mrs. Johnson attended last years trip to Belgium, therefore it made it easier for the majority of students who went on last years trip, she also teaches the majority of students. Dr. Ankerson is well known as he was the head of post 16 (sixth form) last year.
Communication
Communication in the group was essential when planning, as a lot of us had tasks to do. Our main method was through weekly meetings with the group. We captured all of the meetings minutes on paper (all of the meetings minutes can be found in this projects appendix). Although during the week we did use e-mail to communicate with one another. The teachers made a ‘group’ up on her laptop in Microsoft Outlook so that he/she could send an email to every student who was attending the trip.
Communication (Continued)
We also had a notice board in the business department keeping the students updated on the tasks and important information we needed to know regarding the trip. Our main communication method with NST was through email, the teacher was emailing Julia Silzer, who was our tour operator for NST. We did occasionally speak to her over the telephone, but we felt that emailing each other would be a more efficient and effective communication method, as we could attach important documentation, such as name lists. We also recognised that emailing was much cheaper than making telephone calls.
We used two forms of communication when communicating with parents; this was in written form, with letters and forms, all of these can be found in the appendix at the back of this unit. The second form of communication we used was face-to-face presentations; this was done by two of the students in my class and Mrs. Johnson (one of the teachers attending the trip). We had one meeting for the parents on the 17th October. The students had two, one on what type of activities were involved on the Prague trip, the second was a final meeting (just before the trip) asking for our EHICs and Passports.
We planned out that on the trip we would use mobile telephone communication where the majority of us would have mobile telephones. We agreed that each group (having at least 4 in a group) should carry at least one handset. Both teachers had their own handsets as well; this enabled us to communicate with one another just in case some of us got lost. We also had the telephone tree that had all of the students parents contact details, so that we only had to make two international calls for each group, then any news would be passed down the trees branches (students parents) and will receive the same information without making expensive calls.
Time Constraints
It is one of the tasks of any event organiser to break-down all of the tasks so that the hazards and risks can be easily identified. This will help prioritize tasks that are the most important. This will then allow the event organizer to allocate time to each task.
Timelines are usually used to helps other understand what tasks took place. A timeline is a line that represents all the tasks that took place in chronological order. This will help the organizer prepare and make appropriate decisions. Below shows a timeline for our trip to Prague and the tasks involved with the preparation of the event.
Contingency Whilst Planning
This section will show you all the tasks mentioned above placed in a Gantt chart showing if we met deadlines with certain tasks. I made this on Microsoft Excel, so the dates and information can be shown effectively.
As you can see we had two tasks that exceeded its expected time of completion, although the majority of other tasks finished by the expected time of completion.
In conclusion I think the task was very successful as all the students were involved with the planning and implementation of the event. We used measuring techniques, such as the GANTT charts to see where we overrun on tasks, compared to the original plan. This I felt was a very good start for the trip to Prague, as we proved to be a good interacting team, making sure that all the required constraints were all understood by the students. As a team we could have made more use of the resources we had within the college, such as the school’s emailing system, all students have their own emailing account, but many students doing the planning of the trip rarely checked their emails therefore making it redundant as a successful means of communication. Another problem we came across was gathering the Academy’s procedures, as at the time they were being revised by Mr. Finnegan, therefore making the copies that all the staff and departments had were useless.
Task 3: Staging the Event
In this task I will be explaining how I contributed to the organisation of the trip. I will explain in-depth on the sort of tasks I was allocated, as well as how I succeeded in successfully implementing my given tasks.
There are five separate sections which had to be co-ordinated. These are shown below in a form of list:
- Contracts for venues, supplies, personnel
- Marketing and publicity
- Operations
- Financial recording and security
- Health and safety, and equity
As a class, we all decided to choose people we wanted to work with, then decided on what areas (as provided) we should be responsible for.
As a result I decided to work with my class friend, Gemma Morley, we both decided to be responsible for the area of “Contracts for venues, supplies, and personnel”. We both decided this would be a good area for us to focus on as we are particularly skilled with specific areas of organisation (e.g. making lists) and arranging required physical resources (e.g. first aid kits). I also felt that it would be appropriate because I was the main point of contact with the tour operator we were using.
Aims and Objectives
These are set out so that me and Gemma can personally evaluate us as a team and us as individuals on how we did after we planned the event, this will help us to strategically analyze our performance throughout staging the event.
Aims
- To meet all the rules established in the staff handbook, concerning overseas trips
- To make the safety and welfare of the students as safe as possible when staging the event
- To make students happy throughout the trip
- To make sure that all of the hazards mentioned on the Risk Assessment are addressed to the students
- To make sure that we have the required physical and logical resources during the trip
- To make sure that any changes to the trip were addressed to the students and parents.
Objectives
- We can do this by cross-referencing all of the events activities with the rules found in the staff handbook, as well as asking the Senior Leadership Team staff (Dr. Ankerson) to liaise our judgments and selections.
- We can do this by making sure with the tour operator that the excursions meet all European and UK regulations concerning overseas events. Again we can liaise with Dr. Ankerson, as well as conduct our own research with regards to the safety of the trip.
- We can do this by making sure the students want to go on certain excursions prior to booking it (via. Questionnaires and meetings). As well as constantly asking students throughout the trip if they were happy.
- We can do this by making it clear to students during meetings and on the coach; copies of the Risk Assessment were understood by the students.
- We can do this by making sure we use the inventory of the supplies effectively, we must also safeguard the supplies at all times during the trip.
- We can do this by making sure communication between students and parents are apparent immediately after given notification. Therefore making sure students/parents keep in contact continuously throughout the trip (via. telephone).
I must establish what tasks and responsibilities that I oversaw, therefore I’ve made a brainstorm up to break down the tasks and responsibilities I contributed to during the trip.
Now we have established all of our tasks and responsibilities, I must discuss how we came across when organising the overall planning must be setup successfully to make sure that the actual event runs smoothly.
Staging the Tasks and Responsibilities
When staging an event, planning during the trip, as well as good communication is essential, as school guidelines (set by Leigh Technology College) and government legislation (by DfES) have to be followed. As me and Gemma are only students we are not authorised to complete some of the tasks without staff supervision. I will now go through how I contributed In each task and responsibility as listed in the brainstorm.
The tour operator we used throughout the trip was NST School Tours. During the trip we came across NST several times, the first was at London Gatwick airport, where we met the representative that provided us with all the travel documentation required for check-in. I took part in gathering all the British Airways e-tickets and handed them all out to all the students, my partner, Gemma helped by ticking all the names of a set list of all the students names, making sure each student had a ticket. We also made communication with the tour operator when we came back from the trip, as one of the students, Anisha, had her mobile telephone stolen, therefore we needed to get an insurance claim form from NST, although I was not authorised to request such a form from NST, I was able to get the correct telephone number for Mrs. Johnson, so that she could contact them on Anisha’s behalf. NST asked the teachers/students to fill out a questionnaire about the trip, although this task involved everyone’s input, I gave several suggestions of improvement, such as the amount of time each excursion lasted.
During the trip, I helped the teachers make sure that all the students were on the coach before and after every excursion we went on. This included waking up students in the morning and conducting head counts to make sure all the students were present. Mrs. Johnson and Dr. Ankerson wanted to make sure that all the students didn’t make a mess when we were on the coach; therefore I checked that all rubbish on the coach was clear and that students were aware that we were not allowed to eat or drink on board the coach.
This responsibility was quite difficult to achieve as I did not want to dominate over my friends on the trip on how clean their rooms were. Although the students were aware of the rules set about keeping rooms clean, as this was mentioned in the ‘Code of Conduct’ which every student committed to. I contributed by making sure that my room and the people sharing my room kept everything clean and tidy in our rooms. When I went into other students rooms, in a kind way I asked them to make sure that their rooms were tidy, and on the whole most of the students kept their rooms tidy. Prior to staying in our rooms for the full stay we asked that all students report any problems with furniture or fixtures in their room, as the hotel charged any guests that broke anything in the rooms, as a result Mrs. Johnson had to put down a deposit of £250. I contributed to this as my room had a broken bed, which wasn’t stable for myself to sleep on, I also passed on messages to Mrs. Johnson of other friends rooms that had problems, such as Katherine’s room that also had the same problem with her bed.
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Excursions
During the trip we went on several excursions throughout Prague, and it was difficult to make sure that students were not walking off, and that we did not at any time get separated from the main group, therefore I made sure that the majority of students had one another’s telephone numbers on their mobiles, this ensured that if anyone got lost we were able to get in conduct with one another effectively. During the trip that my mobile telephone was activated for international roaming so that I could make and receive telephone calls. In a way I made sure that I was always near a teacher, and that I was not separated from the group at any time. As mentioned above, I constantly took head counts to make sure that all my class mates were intact and that we did not lose anyone during excursions.
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Student Listing
Throughout the trip lists of all the students were required, therefore I made sure that a list was always at hand so that Mrs. Johnson could tick off students on coming on and off the coach during excursions. I did volunteer on looking after important student data during the trip, such as medical illnesses and contact information; although for data protection reasons I was told that I could not take up such task. When the trip came to the end, Gemma prepared a questionnaire so that we could analyse how good the trip was according to the students, therefore I helped her by making sure that each and every student received a questionnaire, I did this by ticking off each student’s name when Gemma handed out questionnaires. This helped Gemma particularly has she could refer back to this listing to see what students completed and handed back their questionnaires for analysis.
This task was one of the hardest tasks as we had to constantly inform all the students during the trip of changes concerning events that were listed on the itinerary. I contributed by passing on important changes to other students through ‘word of mouth’ and through text messages. This was particularly done during the evenings when all the students went out in different groups, as extensions to curfews were given, some groups were unaware, and therefore I sent several text messages to make sure that they were aware. As mentioned before I made several wake up calls to other students rooms, to make sure they were ready for the excursion trips.
Supplies during the trip were quite important, as set by school and DfES regulations certain supplies must be carried during the trip. Although the teachers carried most of them continuously throughout the trip, on occasions I carried the group’s first aid kit, and carried a copy of the telephone tree, just in case we needed to contact someone. I also got the first aid kit before we left for the trip.
- Storage of Important Documentation
This was an important task as it involves the security of documentation that could potentially restrict us from going and returning from Prague. When the passports, EHICs, consent forms, and medical supplies was taken suitable storage facilities had to be given. When the passports and EHICs were collected they were stored in the schools safe, located in the bursar’s office, with all the consent forms.
- Storage of Important Documentation (Continued)
Whilst in Prague, I made sure that the hotel we were staying in had facilities to securely hold our passports and EHIC cards, I verified several times with NST who said that the hotel safe can be used at no extra cost. Therefore I made it clear to Dr. Ankerson about storing these important documents in the hotel’s safe, this made him remind Mrs. Johnson (who had possession of these documents) to ask the hotels manager if we could store such documentation in the hotels safe. Without me reminding Dr. Ankerson, the documentation may have been stored in one of the teacher’s hotel room, where it is more prone to theft. Storage of medical supplies, such as student’s medication was stored in Mrs. Johnson’s hotel room in a dry place. The first aid kit travelled everywhere we went in Prague with the teachers, although on foot and at the hotel Dr. Ankerson kept the first aid kit.
Whilst in Prague, I took my family’s digital camcorder, so that I could film important parts during the trip. Although it was not required, I felt it could be important evidence, so that we could recap on anything that other students may have missed or forgotten. I felt this was an essential way in contributing to the trip, as no other student volunteered in filming parts of the trip, therefore I insisted.
Did I Meet The Set Aims and Objectives?
I will now go through each aim and objective and provide commentary on how I felt I successfully or unsuccessfully meet the aim/objective. As well as commenting on my own personal performance.
Other Team’s Duties
During this task all the other students played a part on how they contributed towards the staging of the trip to Prague. All the tasks were split into specialisms and out of the ten students; five groups were made, giving 2 students per team. I will now go through each of the other team’s responsibilities and roles.
In this group the students had to publicise the trip to year 12 and 13 students throughout the Academy and market it to them to get them to come along on the trip. They used a lot of resources from the resources provided (e.g. booklets), as well as the internet. They had to also provide all the students with up-to-date information regarding the trip, such as passing on the information regarding the changes in prices. They liaised with loads of other groups, especially mine and Gemma’s to find out about the venues we were visiting, etc. Although on the trip, the responsibilities differed slightly, for instance, this group made sure plenty of photographs were taken for the school newsletter, for leaflets regarding business school trips within the school, and collecting relevant resources to prove that we, as a class, went on the trip to Prague (e.g. attraction leaflets).
In this group the students were responsible for the student’s concern about the aspects concerning the trip, in other words they were in charge of the customer service provided to the students. They were in charge of implementing the risk assessment, and making the telephone tree. Their main task was liaising with the teachers with student’s communication. They were also responsible for the presentation to parents about the information of the trip, such as insurance, etc. Although on the trip, this teams main responsibilities involved making sure that the students were safe when going out in groups, making sure that they had a mobile telephone for communication purposes, making sure that everyone’s belongings were safe during the trip, and constantly making adequate checks on pupil’s wellbeing. Before we left, the operations team made sure that all student passports and e-hic’s were collected three days before we left (Monday), this was done to make sure that no problems occurred on the morning of departure. This group also made sure that all the students were happy during the trip, therefore making sure students were not arguing with one another during the trip, as well as collating information from the students regarding how good the trip was (via. a questionnaire).
- Financial Recording and Security
In this group the students were responsible for keeping up-to-date information on the students that are attending the trip, as well as keeping up-to-date information in each student’s payments of the trip. They had to also provide relevant information regarding security issues during the trip such as pickpockets and thief’s. This group liaised strongly with Mrs, Johnson and Dr.Ankerson about the contingency fund for emergencies and other information about the finances of the trip. During the trip the hotel required a deposit for the rooms we were staying in, just in case any students damaged
- Financial Recording and Security (Continued)
the rooms they were staying in, therefore along with Mrs. Johnson and Dr. Ankerson, a deposit of £250 was put down (via. schools credit card). This team was responsible for the security of students belongings, therefore they collected all of the students passports and e-hics and made sure that they were secure within the hotel’s safe.
- Health & Safety, and Equality Issues
In this group the students were responsible for researching all about health and safety issues of overseas school trips, as well as equality issues for students, such as racism. They used relevant resources from DfES website, and the staff handbook. They were also in charge of any situations that may arise between students, therefore maintaining a safe and friendly environment with all the students. They liaised a lot with the students and Dr. Ankerson. During the trip this group made sure that all the excursions we went on were safe for us to visit, they made sure that a first aid kit was always carried everywhere, they also made sure that every student was happy with one another during the trip (this was a shared responsibility between this group and operations team), and they made sure that the risk assessment was always with the group throughout the trip, this was just in case an incident occurred regarding health and safety, the risk assessment was followed through regarding procedures and what the group should do.
Overall the staging of the event was quite hectic as everything had to be correct, as it was important for every student had to know about the risks, and relevant information regarding the trip in general. Although doing this task has allowed students to learn and demonstrate how an event is successfully managed so that not just themselves, but a party of people can be safe and controlled respectfully without causing problems.
I think that I did too much work, which interfered with other team’s task’s, which in ways was bad, as I should have stayed to my specified responsibilities. Then again some students did not contribute as much as others; therefore I felt it was important to complete uncompleted tasks. If we could stage the trip again I would of made all the tasks and responsibilities more established so that each party/student knows exactly what they have to do. I would also make sure that all the students had each other’s mobile telephone number so we could contact one another easily and effectively as I felt that the communication between others was bad. Altogether though I think this stage of organising the event was successful. I enjoyed doing tasks, as I learnt valuable lessons with communicating with people, and organising important aims and objectives for my group to achieve.
Task 4: Review and Evaluate The Visit
In this task I will assess and evaluate how successful the trip was. I will regard the questionnaire results provided by the students on the trip, the teachers, and my own personal view on how successful the trip was. I will then compare all of these to the aims and objectives, that I made in task 1 before the trip was staged. This will provide a clear indication to see if the trip was successful or not.
I will first review and evaluate the questionnaire results that were received back from all the students/respondents who went on the trip.
Questionnaire Analysis
- What is your age?
From the results we can see that the majority of students were 17 or 16, therefore this limited the students on types of activities they could anticipate in on the trip, such as drinking and going to clubs. Although around 12% of students were 18 or above, it limited the places where students could socialise with one another, due to age limitations.
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What year group are you in?
This question identified important information regarding the numbers of students, from each year group. This allowed my class to identify what people went on the trip from each year; this could be useful information regarding the different year groups that attended the trip. We can see that the majority of the students on the trip were in my year and the year below (year 12 & 13). This shows that we faced a problem trying to market the trip to students in year 14, as only a small number attended. Although the trip was hosted for students within year 12 & 13, therefore this is not a reliable source.
- Why did you want to go on this trip? What made you interested in going?
As you can see the majority of students went on the trip to experience another culture, as well for their educational needs, especially for the year 13’s for our coursework. This may have been inflected due to the school’s recent campaign in getting more students to go on extra-curricular trips to benefit student’s education. It also shows that we promoted the trip well, as all the students wanted to go the trip for the things that we’ve been promoting.
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Did you think the trip was value for money? If so or not why is this?
As you can see, the majority of the students felt that the trip was ‘value for money’. Those that suggested it was good ‘value for money’ said that the trip was enjoyable / interesting; the students also felt that the hotel rooms given were of good standard. This suggests that, on the whole, the organisation of the trip, including the accommodation, and excursions was successful. Looking at the respondents who said that the trip wasn’t ‘value for money’, they suggested that it was too expensive for a trip that only lasted for four days. They felt the airline tickets were far too expensive and that they could have been cheaper.
- Out of the four excursions we have visited which ones did you think where good and why?
As you can see the majority of people felt that the ‘U Fleku’ brewery was the best place that the students felt was good, when we asked why all the students said that it was mainly because we could try out the brewery’s produced beer. Others said it was because the brewery’s spokesman was friendly and spoke very clearly. I personally felt that the brewery’s tour was very interesting, because it showed the whole brewing process, from start to finish. The second most popular excursion that the students picked was the Bohemia Crystal Factory, the students felt that this was a good excursion because we were able to see how the business operated, which was quite different to British businesses, as health and safety was not a common issue in the factory. Students also felt that it was interesting to see how the glass was made manually by humans, rather than machinery. The Skoda factory came third, scoring only eleven votes, students felt that the factory was interesting, especially how both human and machine labour was combined to manufacture the cars. The tour of Prague came last, only a small minority of the students felt this was a good excursion, they felt it was interesting to find out the historic roots of Prague, they also said the architecture of the buildings was fascinating.
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Which out of the four trips did you dislike and why?
From the results shown on the left, we can see that the majority of the students disliked the tour of Prague. The students felt that it was boring because the trip lasted for several hours; this made the excursion long-winded, which decreased most of the student’s concentration levels. The students also complained about the amount of walking we did, as it was estimated that we walked four to five miles that day, which again tired the students. Over a quarter of the students disliked the Skoda factory because the tour started off with a long introduction concerning Skoda’s history and long-talks about Skoda’s products, this made all the students bored. The majority of the girls said that they’re not interested in cars, therefore not focusing on the tour. Students felt that the Bohemia Crystal Factory and ‘U Fleku’ brewery was quite good in general, although there were a few minor flaws with each, for instance at the crystal factory, the students felt that the working conditions for the staff were quite bad, this made several students feel sorry for them. As for the ‘U Fleku’ brewery the students felt that the brewery smelled, this made the some students feel sick.
- What type of business would you prefer to visit and why would you like to visit this?
This question was used to see what businesses the students would of preferred to see compared to the visits organised on the Prague trip. Although the results seem unclear, as you can see the majority of students said they wanted to visit a football club, a chocolate factory, and a zoo. It was interesting to see the types of students that choose these places, for instance the majority of boys who attended the trip chose a football club, and the majority of the girls chose a chocolate factory, and zoo. I found this question quite hard to analyse, but it suggests that most of the class want to visit a business that operates with student’s interests. Although the three most popular business chosen can be visited in the UK, as there are several established football clubs, chocolate factories, and zoo’s.
- Did you think that you had enough free time? How much would have you preferred?
The results indicate that out of twenty three students, twenty one felt that the trip provided enough free time. This suggests that the students were happy in general with the allocated free time during the trip. Although the students who said ‘Yes’ agreed that they would stay out all night, and wanted a longer curfew. The two students that said ‘No’ said they did not have enough free time during the day. Overall over eighty-five percent of the students felt that there was enough allocated time through-out the trip, and that the teachers and NST together planned the trip well, allowing us to have our own time to explore Prague.
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Out of 10, How good do you think the trip was in general? (0 being poor and 10 being excellent)
From the results, you can see all the students have said that the trip in general was ‘good’ or better, as all the collected results were over 7. This suggests that overall all the students enjoyed the trip. This shows that the planning, organisation, and staging of the event were successful. When I asked one of the students on why they thought the trip was ‘excellent’, they said that the teachers that organised the trip, Mrs. Johnson and Dr. Ankerson, made sure that all of us were safe and happy throughout the trip; they also agreed that the excursions and tours we went on were ‘fascinating’.
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Would you recommend this trip and why?
From the graph we can see that all of the students said that they would recommend this trip to any other student. When I asked why, students said the trip was fun, interesting, educational, cheap, and had great places to visit. This suggests that the trip was organised very well. All the students said that they would recommend the trip, therefore suggesting that this would be a good place to re-visit if another business trip had to be organised.
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If another Business trip was organised would you go on it again and why is this?
This question was similar to the previous question, although this one is asking if they would go on another business trip if organised, therefore finding out if the planning, organisation and staging of the event was successful. The results show that all the students said that they would go on another business trip, when asked, the students said because it was fun, interesting, gain an international experience of culture, and especially for education purposes. Overall this suggests that the trip reflected positively on all the students, and that it has proven to be helpful for their education, which could essentially improve business grades.
In conclusion to this questionnaire analysis we can see that this questionnaire has allowed us to see how successful the trip to Prague was from all the students’ point of view. Question 3 caught my attention, as the majority of students said they went on the trip to experience another culture, this does seem ethical, but the main purpose of the trip was to get students to acknowledge the differences in international businesses compared to running UK businesses, this shows that we did not appear to advertise the trip in regards to business, but rather as a trip to experience different cultures, and visiting another country in general. Question 4 was another question that I felt was interesting as it asks students if they felt the trip was ‘value for money’, although the majority said it was, quite a few students still felt that it was not good ‘value for money’, this suggests the marketing of the trip was not great enough to get students to ignore the cost of the trip. Question 5 and 6 I felt was quite amusing to analysis as both questions were practically the same, but the results collected were slightly different, does this suggest that the respondents, the students, may be biased? I felt question 7 was a pointless, as we acknowledged earlier that the majority of trips that the students went on were interesting. Some of the responses received on this question were quite hard to justify why students wanted to see such business, as they are available in the UK. Question 8 was rather important as it asked the students if they had enough free time during the trip, the majority of students agreed and said they did, therefore indicating that the itinerary was planned successfully by the teachers and NST. Question 9, 10, and 11 were the most important questions as they asked all the students if they felt the trip was successful. There response was positive, as all the students suggested that the trip was ‘good’ or better. The students also agreed that if such a trip was organised again they would go on it, as it provided them with an ‘enjoyable’ and ‘interesting’ experience.
Overall I think this questionnaire was good to use because it gave us a clear indication if the customers of the trip, the students, felt that it was successful, as we can see it was. Some questions asked I felt were inappropriate and did not provide us with any relevant information. Some of the results I felt were biased, but I think when the questionnaires were handed out which was on the journey home, everyone was tired, therefore providing less accurate results.
Now I have used the questionnaire to collect useful information on what all the students as a whole felt about the trip, I felt it would be important to collect my own personal view on the trip. I will go through each set aim and objective (as set in task 1) and compare this to see if any of these were met successfully.
Overall I think we did well as a group in meeting most of the aims and objectives. If I could do anything else different whilst planning or staging the event I would make sure that all the students were focused on the tasks they had to do, and play their parts successfully when planning the trip, as I felt some students did not take much responsibility for some tasks. I think all the teachers that were involved in the trip (e.g. Mrs. Johnson & Dr. Ankerson) were amazing in making sure all the things were in order when planning the trip, especially making it possible.
Now I have recognised both the students opinion and my own personal view of the trip, I think it’s important to find out the teachers view on how the trip performed. Therefore I asked the teachers view on the trip according to my set aims and objectives.
The analysis that I received from the teachers that went on the trip allowed me to find out their point of view, as professionals, according to my set aims and objectives.
I will analyse the situations that the group or individual students experienced during the trip, against several questions, this will provide a more detailed summary on the sort of problems and situations we were during the trip.
- Did the visit meet the needs of the students and business studies?
The trip did meet the needs of the students by allowing them to realise how international businesses had similarities and differences compared to how UK businesses operate. For instance when we sent to the Bohemika crystal factory, all the students were amazed at the different health and safety standards, compared to the UK.
- Did the visit meet the needs of the students and business studies? (Continued)
The trip certainly met the needs of the business studies department as we represented the department during the trip, as the students behaved very well, and the students experienced the operation of international businesses which allowed us to complete this coursework unit, as well as have appropriate notes and video footage to allow us to complete the forth-coming unit 12 – international dimensions coursework unit.
- How did the group resolve problems during the trip?
We was lucky, because we did not encounter any large problems during the trip, although one of my colleagues, Anisha Virk, has her phone stolen during the trip. Therefore we had to look at the risk assessment and follow the procedure, which was to contact the senior leadership team correspondent on the trip, Dr. Ankerson, and then they will pursue the matter with the local police.
A problem that we experienced was some tourists we interacted with were drunk and being assertive which made some of the students uncomfortable. The teachers made sure we were not like this as they made sure that we followed the rules set in the student’s ‘code of conduct’ contract, therefore this disabled us to behave in such a way.
Another minor problem that we had along the way was trying to communicate to people in Prague; this was difficult as none of us could speak in Czech, therefore making it hard to communicate. Although our tour guide was bi-lingual and she could speak fluent English, which allowed her to translate for us. This did not help during the evenings, as she was not there to help us. Overall we expected this problem, and it was impossible to correct considering our circumstances.
- Was the tour ‘fit for purpose’?
The trip was ‘fit for purpose’, as the trip educated the students, made us aware of different cultures, inspired and made it fun for us. The trip was priced quite highly, but after the students went on the trip they agreed that it was ‘value for money’. The hotel accommodation was nice, which allowed all the students to feel comfortable when staying in Prague. From my experience, I thought all the excursions were interesting, and provided me with relevant knowledge which allowed understanding the differences on how international businesses operated compared to UK businesses, therefore allowed us to complete this coursework unit, and have reliable knowledge for us to complete the upcoming unit 12 coursework.
Prague in general was a good place to hold the event as there was lots to see and do when we had free-time. Overlooking the planning and staging of the event, I think that all of us, including the teachers, did it so well, it made the trip memorable.
Using the identified success and failures make some recommendations or suggestions for improvement?
There were more successes that failures during the trip, therefore it makes it hard to make suggestions of improvement. Although there are a few things that I would recommend.
Planning
For planning I would recommend all the students to:
- Co-operate more as a group, for instance making sure that every student attended each meeting, and keeping up the communication between particular students.
- Make more time for us to book the event, so making sure we had longer than two weeks to make arrangements, if we had more time I think we could have negotiated prices further to reduce the price per student.
- Look at more tour operators, even though we looked at several, I still think we could of looked at more, which could of reduced the cost, and maybe provide better services.
Staging the Event
For staging the event I would recommend all the students to:
- Making all the students sustain a cleaner room, therefore making sure that all their cloths and belongings were tidied away into provided storage locations.
- Making sure more students took their mobile phones on the trip with them, as it was difficult at times to contact students during the trip.
- Making arrangements for student to wake up earlier, as many students woke up late, making us late to visit excursions.
In conclusion to evaluating the success of the trip, I can say that the trip to Prague was a great success. I think that the Prague trip was much better than the previous trip to Brussels, as it was planned out much better. All the students worked considerably hard to make sure the trip was staged successfully. Considering the amount of stress the year thirteen students were under with upcoming examinations and deadlines, we were still able to enjoy the trip. All the year 12’s and 14’s were impressed with our planning and staging of the event. All the excursions we went on I thought were fantastic, and the teachers were particularly happy with our behavior throughout the trip. Overall I think if next year’s year 12’s planned an international trip, I think it would be impossible to beat how creative and successful the trip to Prague was.
Bibliography / Resources