thorpe park school trip letter

School Travel

THORPE PARK Day trip

A rewarding day out to thorpe park with the school travel company.

We understand that students and teachers want to engage in fun based activities, but also have educational benefits and THORPE PARK certainly ticks all the boxes! It offers students a great way to engage, giving them a great mix of excitement and learning.

You can choice to have an organised workshop that covers subjects such as, business, psychology, STEM, and computing. All of which, has an extensive educational value that can be linked and studied once back at school.

For those who want to reward your students with an end of term trip, or a fun way to say goodbye to fellow students; this is a perfect opportunity to enjoy experiences together for both staff and students.

Your private coach will take you to THORPE PARK ready to arrive mid-morning.

Take advantage of the rides on offer at the park, of which you can access before departing the park at 17:00 to travel back home.

For those who wish to add on an educational workshop, this will be completed first before the group get to spend the rest of the day at leisure enjoying the rides!

Price from £ 89 PP

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WHAT’S INCLUDED?

• Private Coach to transport you to and from drop off/pick up point
• Travel by train may be possible, please ask
• Entrance to THORPE PARK.
• 1:10 free places for supervising adults.

TAILOR YOUR TRIP

CALL US NOW ON 01384 398 893 OR  EMAIL US  TO DISCUSS YOUR REQUIREMENTS FURTHER

WHAT’S EXTRA?

• Educational talks and workshops- please ask for more details.
• Travel insurance (Let us know if you want to include this)

Want to look at another theme park or want to see what else we off, see some of our other exciting day trips.

London Sightseeing Day Trip

Alton Towers Day Trip

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An educational theme park trip? Absolutely!

• Subject: Outdoor Learning
• Date Posted: 20 April 2016

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I am fortunate enough to have an educational role with the unique backdrop of the rollercoasters and rides of THORPE PARK Resort. As you might imagine, I am often quizzed on the educational benefits of school trips to such attractions – surely they can only really be for students on a jolly? I hope to offer an alternative perspective and focus on the kind of enrichment that can in fact only really be attained from a trip to nontraditional venues.

The most important element of a school trip – to any destination – is surely the opportunity to inspire students? Such opportunities are numerous and rich at theme parks, where so many curriculum subjects can be linked to and explored in a destination that will naturally appeal to many, if not most, young people. Rollercoasters provide obvious avenues for discovering gravity and forces; water rides are a natural home for lessons on sustainability and the environment. Imaginative marketing campaigns for new attractions like our Derren Brown Ghost Train offer quirky case studies for business students and an entertaining arena in which they can flex their own creative muscles. It’s not unusual for theme parks and other destinations to provide onsite educational provision for school and college groups in areas such as STEM and business studies, with trained specialists leading the learning – and in other attractions with zoos, for example, I have seen awesome animal experiences which are often exclusive to school groups. Many ‘leisure’ destinations with an educational offering provide plenty of free online resources available in a range of subjects, and the opportunity to link a series of lessons to a visit.

Ignite imaginations

The true potential of any learning outside of the classroom is the opportunity to model the topics being taught in a real world context. The phrase “bring subjects to life” can be overused by all attractions, but behind this lies the undeniable truth that students engage with learning in different ways, and that visits to different destinations can be absorbing to typically uninterested students. I have seen young people blossom regularly in unusual and unexpected settings. This could include a restaurant looking after its customers, an aquarium highlighting its breeding programmes, or even experiencing acceleration on rollercoasters; adding real world context to classroom teaching reinforces understanding and ‘sticky learning’ – something that will stay with students.

An important inclusion for an extracurricular list at any attraction is something employment focused. The leisure and tourism industry offers a range of exciting career paths in areas from customer service to engineering and can develop talent with a youthful seasonal workpool. Work experience and even holiday jobs are available to teenagers without expectation of experience and can open a whole range of options to students.

A final addition to these happy scholastic outcomes – and one that really shouldn’t be overlooked – is that a trip to a theme park is, of course, hugely enjoyable! It seems to be increasingly sidelined in the current climate, with its emphasis so heavily on rigour, assessment and raising standards, but I am not alone in believing there is a powerful association between enjoyment and education. It strikes me that learning can be found in the world around us if only we employ the imagination we seek to foster in the young people in our care. As you look to support their students in their learning, let me encourage you to use all available avenues to engage and inspire them – including visiting more unorthodox and exciting learning destinations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack du Pille is education manager at THORPE PARK Resort. He is a keen rugby player and world traveller, with over 10 years of experience in the education sector.

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What activities are available during group visits?

Which curriculum subjects do you cater for, what size groups do you cater for, do you offer on-site classroom facilities, is there first aid on site, do you offer access for visitors with disabilities, do you cater for visitors with special educational needs (sen).

Our Guest Experience department ensure that we can offer support in most circumstances. Our downloadable Ride Access Pass is available on our website.

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Out of the Centre

Savvino-storozhevsky monastery and museum.

Zvenigorod's most famous sight is the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, which was founded in 1398 by the monk Savva from the Troitse-Sergieva Lavra, at the invitation and with the support of Prince Yury Dmitrievich of Zvenigorod. Savva was later canonised as St Sabbas (Savva) of Storozhev. The monastery late flourished under the reign of Tsar Alexis, who chose the monastery as his family church and often went on pilgrimage there and made lots of donations to it. Most of the monastery’s buildings date from this time. The monastery is heavily fortified with thick walls and six towers, the most impressive of which is the Krasny Tower which also serves as the eastern entrance. The monastery was closed in 1918 and only reopened in 1995. In 1998 Patriarch Alexius II took part in a service to return the relics of St Sabbas to the monastery. Today the monastery has the status of a stauropegic monastery, which is second in status to a lavra. In addition to being a working monastery, it also holds the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum.

Belfry and Neighbouring Churches

Located near the main entrance is the monastery's belfry which is perhaps the calling card of the monastery due to its uniqueness. It was built in the 1650s and the St Sergius of Radonezh’s Church was opened on the middle tier in the mid-17th century, although it was originally dedicated to the Trinity. The belfry's 35-tonne Great Bladgovestny Bell fell in 1941 and was only restored and returned in 2003. Attached to the belfry is a large refectory and the Transfiguration Church, both of which were built on the orders of Tsar Alexis in the 1650s.  

To the left of the belfry is another, smaller, refectory which is attached to the Trinity Gate-Church, which was also constructed in the 1650s on the orders of Tsar Alexis who made it his own family church. The church is elaborately decorated with colourful trims and underneath the archway is a beautiful 19th century fresco.

Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is the oldest building in the monastery and among the oldest buildings in the Moscow Region. It was built between 1404 and 1405 during the lifetime of St Sabbas and using the funds of Prince Yury of Zvenigorod. The white-stone cathedral is a standard four-pillar design with a single golden dome. After the death of St Sabbas he was interred in the cathedral and a new altar dedicated to him was added.

Under the reign of Tsar Alexis the cathedral was decorated with frescoes by Stepan Ryazanets, some of which remain today. Tsar Alexis also presented the cathedral with a five-tier iconostasis, the top row of icons have been preserved.

Tsaritsa's Chambers

The Nativity of Virgin Mary Cathedral is located between the Tsaritsa's Chambers of the left and the Palace of Tsar Alexis on the right. The Tsaritsa's Chambers were built in the mid-17th century for the wife of Tsar Alexey - Tsaritsa Maria Ilinichna Miloskavskaya. The design of the building is influenced by the ancient Russian architectural style. Is prettier than the Tsar's chambers opposite, being red in colour with elaborately decorated window frames and entrance.

At present the Tsaritsa's Chambers houses the Zvenigorod Historical, Architectural and Art Museum. Among its displays is an accurate recreation of the interior of a noble lady's chambers including furniture, decorations and a decorated tiled oven, and an exhibition on the history of Zvenigorod and the monastery.

Palace of Tsar Alexis

The Palace of Tsar Alexis was built in the 1650s and is now one of the best surviving examples of non-religious architecture of that era. It was built especially for Tsar Alexis who often visited the monastery on religious pilgrimages. Its most striking feature is its pretty row of nine chimney spouts which resemble towers.

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