Thanks to donations from our generous supporters, 31 primary school pupils enjoyed a fully funded residential outdoor learning experience in the Lake District.
The school
Mountfield Primary School, located in Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s suburbs, is an inner-city school. It sits in one of England’s top 10% most deprived areas (according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation) and has a high number of pupils eligible for free school meals – 63.4% compared to 26.5% of pupils in England overall.
They applied for Grants for Schools funding in 2025. Their application told a vivid story of how they’re working hard to teach pupils about nature and environmental issues, but face barriers when it comes to getting the children out in nature.
“We work tirelessly to provide opportunities for our pupils to learn outside of the classroom and to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of the issues that are going to most likely affect their lives.”
“In a recent survey, we asked parents about their access to places beyond their locality. In the survey, only 25% of families make regular trips away and these were mostly for visiting family. The main barriers stated in the survey to accessing places to visit was lack of funds and resources to take their children away and a lack of access to the necessary transport. Other barriers that were mentioned were lack of confidence and not knowing where to go”
“While we try to ensure a variety of outdoor experiences, we are limited by the funds our families can afford. Without essential additional funding, many trips and visits are simply out of reach for our families.”
The experience
In February 2026, 31 KS2 pupils plus teachers joined us for two-night residential trip. For the school’s first ever visit to one of our centres, they travelled to our Blencathra field centre in Cumbria, which sits 300m up the mountain which gives the centre its name.
Their trip was fully funded thanks to support from individuals and charitable trusts.
With input from teachers, we designed an exciting schedule of activities, which included:
- Wilderness Bushcraft – fire lighting and shelter building
- Disappearing Animals: Small Mammals – using Longworth traps to catch and examine species including mice and voles
- Geo Journeys, with Green Artist and Literacy Through Landscapes (Mountain Walk) – learning about the special qualities of the Lake District National Park, how it was formed, how it can be affected by people’s activities, and how we can work to conserve a mountain environment
- Orienteering Puzzles / Compass Orienteering – learn and use navigation skills including using a map and compass to find a series of points and clues
The impact it had
We could tell you all about the benefits of outdoor learning from a developmental and scientific perspective, but we much prefer to use the pupils’ own words, so here are a couple of our favourite bits from the feedback forms:
“Never been on a trip like this before because I’m not quite used to being away from my mam. It was the best two night trip ever. You should look after nature more.”
“The trip taught me to not be afraid … because doing something new is fun.”
And here’s what their teacher had to say:
“Huge boost in pupils’ independence, resilience, and perseverance skills.”
“One particular child was over the moon with excitement as it reminded her of her home country, Azerbaijan. Many children remarked on how they loved the challenge of walking through the wind and rain.”
“These experiences are essential in building pupils’ awareness of ‘other’. This, for many in our party, was the first time they had seen mountains and lakes, and this experience truly opened their doors of opportunity!”
“A great big thank you for funding this experience as it made it truly accessible to all. Also, I’d like to thank the wonderful Emma and Alex for their excellent support and all the lovely staff at the centre.”
Your support makes these experiences possible
Almost half of children are missing out on school trips due to the cost. You can help connect young people with nature and outdoor learning opportunities by becoming a Member today. From just £2 a month, a regular donation will help remove financial barriers and give more children the outdoor education they deserve.