A group of 67 students and 12 teachers have returned from a West coast tour of America. The Royal Hospital School in Holbrook near Ipswich organised the 16 day tour with Halsbury travel as a cross curricular school trip combining music and culture. Highlights for the school band who was on the trip included playing concerts on the Queen Mary Cruise liner in Long Beach, on the Blues Brothers stage in Universal Studions, entertaing guests in Disneyland on the Carnation Plaza stage and 2 concerts in San Francisco one at Pier 39 and one at the Golden Gate Band shell. The 40 students in band thoroughly enjoyed their performances and the experience of playing to different audiences.

The itinerary started in Las Vegas on the 8th of July before the group traveled over 16 days to the Scottsdale, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Fresno before flying back from San Francisco on the 23rd of July. The trip included a visit to Sea World and Universal Studios and tours of Hollywood and San Francisco. The group also saw the famous sights of the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Frontier Town, Venice beach, Yosemite national park, Nappa Valley, Union Square and Golden Gate Park. Halsbury Travel the tour operator who organised the trip said “For the Band to play in so many unique venues is such a boost to the group’s confidence, with a fantastic opportunity to learn about American history, seeing it come to life and able put it into context making it an unforgettable trip.”

Incredible India!

A group of 11 Students and 2 teachers from The Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield have returned from a successful school trip to India.

The group organised the trip with Halsbury Travel as a cultural and historical school trip. With many of the students’ finishing school this year this was their last experience before moving onto university or into work.

The 11 day trip departed on the 1^st of July and returned on the 11th of July, emphasis of the trip was on the culture and history of India with the group starting the tour in the capital Delhi. Exploring the surrounding area seeing sights including Agra fort and the Taj Mahal before travelling south to Jaipur where students visited the Amber Fort, the City Palace and Hawa Mahal. The Group took time to visit a local school giving the chance to better understand the social norms and see the difference in everyday life in India.

The group had planned to take the Shatbdi Express train form Delhi to Amritsar however due to torrential rains and floods the trains were cancelled. Having to stay an extra night in Delhi the group were able to fly to Amritsar the next day at no extra cost to see the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. The last leg of the journey meant heading south to Haridwar and Rishikesh and crossing the Ganges to Swargashram.

Halsbury Travel the trip organisers, who have more than 20 years of experience, say “For the students an experience like this is invaluable as the students learn the history of India, appreciate other cultures and learn about themselves often returning more confident. What better way to finish school than have an unforgettable experience with your closest friends?”

Viva la Revolución!

A group of 25 Students and 3 teachers from The High School of Glasgow has returned from a successful school trip to Cuba and was organised as an end of year cultural trip. Cuba is a fascinating place to visit with a rich culture, due in part to the USA imposed embargos isolating the country since 1969.

With strict visa restrictions still in place the trip was put in jeopardy at the last minute when on arrival at the airport the group realised one of the tourist cards essential for travel had been misplaced.

As a result one student and a group leader were unable to travel, having to stay behind and watch their classmates fly without them. However a quick response of the trip organisers Halsbury Travel, meant a replacement visa was issued and sent to them the same day and the remaining student and teacher joined the group the next day with the rest of the trip going ahead as planned.

The 9 day trip departed on the 25^th of June and returned on the 3rd of July, emphasis of the trip was on the culture and history of Cuba with the group being based in the capital Havana exploring the surrounding area as well as visiting Trinidad. To get a comparison of the everyday lifestyle of Cuba the group took time to visit a local school, university and cigar factory, while in the evening going to the Tomas Terry Theatre. The group’s itinerary also included a tour of Havana, visiting the Revolution museum, Architecture museum, Romance museum, Ernest Hemingway museum as well as the Che Guevara Mausoleum.

Halsbury Travel the trip organisers, who have more than 20 years of experience, say “For the students an experience like this is invaluable as the students learn the history of Cuba, learning how political and economic differences can shape a country and gaining a real appreciation for other cultures.”

TES Article are school trips safe

Halsbury travel featured in the TES this month in an article on the subject of taking school trips in bad weather. This has been a hot topic this year and teachers are unsure where they stand.
Find out what Keith Sharkey the managing director of Halsbury Travel and teachers have to say to help you find out if there is anything that can be done to avoid the school or parents being out of pocket when cancelling a trip.

Read the article at

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6043759

www.halsbury.com