Safety tips for school and college trips abroad
Throughout their time in education, students will be afforded lots of exciting opportunities and fun ways to learn, but none is as transformative and life-changing as the chance to travel.
Whether they’re visiting historical landmarks, taking part in cultural exchanges, or attending international sports competitions, travelling abroad offers incredible opportunities to learn and grow beyond the classroom.
Of course, these opportunities require strong organisation and someone to handle the logistics. In particular, managing the safety and well-being of students overseas requires careful planning.
To help you plan a safe and memorable educational trip for all participating students, here are our key safety tips for teachers, trip leaders and coordinators.
Plan early and communicate clearly
Preparation is absolutely the foundation of any safe trip. You should start planning as far in advance as possible, ideally six to nine months ahead. This gives you the chance to research the destination you’re going to thoroughly, so you can understand any important local laws, customs, transportation systems and safety concerns.
You should also establish a clear communication plan from the start; somewhere you can share detailed itineraries with all students, parents and staff involved. It’s also important to provide emergency contact numbers, details about the accommodation and copies of travel insurance documents, ensuring that these are easily accessible to all.
Nowadays, most students will have access to a smartphone, so tools like WhatsApp make it easy to create groups and share information. This also makes it much easier to stay connected during the trip.
Work with reputable group travel agents
When booking your trip, you’ll have to juggle multiple key aspects from flights and accommodation to transportation and tours, and it’s important that you always use licensed and reputable group travel agents when doing so.
This ensures your bookings are correct and that you stay compliant with local safety regulations; you’ll also get support if something goes wrong. When booking group flights for your students, choose to work with a group flight consolidator like BTG Travel.
As a group flight specialist, we make it easier to arrange flights for a large number of students or educational groups, and we are on hand to help should something go wrong during your trip.
Unlike booking individually, a flight consolidator offers a dedicated account manager who can help you with:
Managing name changes and group check-ins
Handling last-minute flight changes or delays
Ensuring all students are seated together
Providing 24/7 support during travel disruptions
This adds an extra layer of security and oversight, and reduces the administrative and logistical burden on educators, allowing them to focus on student welfare instead of flight itineraries.
Prepare your students for cultural differences
The safety of your students abroad usually depends on their awareness and respect for local customs and laws.
So, before your trip, make sure to hold a meeting - parents can also be involved in this - to discuss appropriate behaviour, dress codes and local etiquette. You should remind your students to be mindful of cultural differences, especially in religious or conservative countries.
You can take this opportunity to also remind them of basic safety practices and what to do if they encounter a problem. This might include keeping their passports and valuables safe, not walking off alone, understanding local emergency numbers and whether they need to be cautious with food and water hygiene in your chosen location.
Small laminated cards containing hotel details and emergency contact information can be extremely helpful and are easy to make and distribute to students before your trip.
Establish clear behaviour and safety rules
As well as discussing cultural differences, it’s also important to set out your expectations for behaviour and safety during the trip. This could include curfews, a buddy systems, alcohol restrictions and boundaries for free time if your students have any.
Each student should be paired or grouped with others to reduce the risk of anyone being left behind or getting lost. There must also be the required number of teachers and chaperones, and they must maintain a safe ratio to students, appropriate for the students' age group.
Prioritise health and wellbeing
A successful trip depends on everyone staying happy and healthy. So, as well as checking the health requirements for your destination, such as vaccinations, it’s vital that students have the right travel insurance and access to any medical care they might need.
It’s a good idea to encourage students to bring a small personal first aid kit. This should include any prescription medications (with copies of prescriptions) that they need.
Teachers should carry a more comprehensive first aid kit and be aware of any allergies or medical conditions within the group. It’s also vital to have clear procedures in place for handling illness or injury abroad, ensuring that every staff member or chaperone knows where the nearest hospital or clinic is located.
Stay informed and flexible
Even the best-planned trips can face unexpected challenges, flight delays, weather disruptions or sudden policy changes. In the run up to your trip, be sure to keep track of travel advisories from official government websites.
By planning early, working with trusted partners and keeping communication strong, educators can ensure that every participant enjoys their school or college trip with confidence and gets the most from the experience.
Having a group flight consolidator on board can also make a major difference in these situations. If flights are delayed or cancelled, consolidators have direct airline contacts and can quickly rebook your group, arrange alternative routes or coordinate with local ground transport.
So, if you’d like help booking group flights and the peace of mind that you have an expert advisor on hand 24/7, then get in touch with BTG Travel Management today.