World Challenge handles most of it so that you can get on with teaching
We know most teachers taking on an overseas expedition already have a full timetable. World Challenge takes the hassle out of it by doing the parts that would otherwise land on your desk, such as building the itinerary, sorting the flights, handling the risk management documentation, running student and parent presentations, and most of the admin that goes with it.
Here’s the whole journey, in the order it happens, so you can see what’s asked of you and when. Nothing here commits you to anything; the first step is a conversation, not a decision.
There’s no single answer, because it depends on where you want to go and how your school plans to fund it. Flight schedules are usually released around 10 months before the departure date range, which is often what sets the timeline. Many schools get in touch and start planning sooner than this, some don’t.
If the trip you have in mind feels soon, get in touch anyway. It’s worth having a quick conversation, and we’ll tell you honestly where you stand.
It starts with a conversation. Tell us about your school, the year group involved and when you’re thinking of travelling. Let us know what you want your students to get out of it.
You don’t need a destination in mind, most schools don’t at this stage, and we can help you with that. You can ask us anything: in 40 years of planning and delivering school expeditions, there’s not a lot we haven’t seen.
We’ll talk it through properly, either in person or online, whichever works best – and then come back with a proposal. That typically includes a small number of itineraries that fit your objectives, timings and aims, with what’s included set out plainly.
Our proposal is one you can confidently take to your senior leadership team, and if outcome data or teacher and student testimonials would help with sign-off, just ask. We survey our expeditions every year and publish the findings in our Impact Report, so there’s plenty of it.
This is where your senior leadership team gives the go-ahead. We put together a booking form, which they just need to review and approve. Once that’s done, you’re set to offer the expedition to your students and their parents.
That’s all your school is committed to at this step. Everything after this is still down to who signs up.
This is the point where we introduce the expedition to your students and get them excited about it. Your school gets its own branded World Challenge page, where students and parents can sign up for more details, plus slides and posters to use around school.
We present the expedition to your students, in person or online, and will cover what’s involved, the itinerary, what will be asked of them, dates, costs and how best to prepare. The aim is that students leave wanting to be part of your expedition and ready to bring their parents along to their information evening a week later.
We understand that parents may have different questions from students, so we run a separate session, typically online, where they can ask anything. We cover the practical side and the bits parents most want to hear about: payments, safety, risk management, and support. The presentation is recorded and sent out afterwards for anyone who couldn’t make it.
Following this, parents sign up through your school’s own branded World Challenge page, meaning you don’t have to collect applications. In the UK, we can also take first instalments directly, so you’re not handling money either.
This is the moment it becomes real. Once 12 students have signed up and their parents have paid their first instalment, your expedition is secured, and your school’s World Challenge team is confirmed.
From here, you’re handed over to a School Account Manager, your main contact through to departure. For World Challenge Expeditions, your group is matched with an Expedition Leader too, who you’ll meet before you travel so you can start getting to know each other ahead of the trip.
Preparation is the part of their World Challenge journey that teachers rate most highly in our annual survey. You and your students can work through our optional online training modules and take part in our team training day to help prepare you for the trip.
Behind the scenes, we handle the flights, the risk management documentation, the student details and the paperwork. So you travel as a teacher rather than a tour manager, properly prepared, with World Challenge’s experienced support team behind you.
Ready to get started? It begins with a conversation.
Tell us about your group, your aims and what you want students to come back able to do. We will build your expedition around that and handle the parts that would otherwise land on your desk.
For teachers, most of the admin that would normally be your responsibility sits with us instead, from first enquiry to final debrief, including:
For 40 years, World Challenge has supported schools on expeditions worldwide, whatever the time difference.
We provide:
Tell us a bit about your group and the aims of your school trip. We’ll come back to you to discuss options, costs and dates.
Plan your school expedition 
