Thanks to grant from the Clore Duffield Foundation.
APPLICATIONS FOR YEAR 2 OPEN
Highland Leadership Academy. Photograph - Hannah Harley Young
For press images, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/3bewszw8
This autumn marks the start of an ambitious programme of over 20,000 visits for 5,000 school children from some of the areas of greatest need across the UK in Blackpool, Cornwall and Portsmouth. This unprecedented investment of £5 million over 5 years from the Clore Duffield Foundation will transform schools’ current trips programmes. It will provide never before experienced visits for students, including trips to London.
In the words of Dame Vivien Duffield: “My personal experience of the joy and excitement of visiting museums as a child gave me the inspiration to create this programme. Those trips opened my eyes to a whole new world of experiences that I will never forget.”
The schools will be going on a rich and inspiring range of trips including to:
- Leading museums and galleries: the National Portrait Gallery, the V&A, the Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Tate
- Sites of national significance: the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Olympic Park
- Theatre trips, including to see the Lion King, whole school trips to the pantomime, the Old Vic, Shakespeare’s Globe and the Theatre Royal, Plymouth
- UNESCO World Heritage sites and National Trust properties
- Outdoor activity centres, the seaside and places of natural beauty such as Lake Windermere and St Michael’s Mount
1,500 children will be visiting London and 4,500 will be visiting the seaside and the great outdoors.
The Foundation is supporting schools in areas with the highest levels of need in the country at a crucial time for schools when they are being hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis. According to research by the Sutton Trust (April 2023), reports of cuts to trips and outings have more than doubled, now standing at 50%, up from 21% – a proportion that is even higher in schools with the most disadvantaged intakes, at 68%, compared to 44% in the least deprived schools.
The Foundation’s grant to each school covers 100% of the costs required to fund the programme.
In this first year of the programme, it is estimated that around 5,000 children will benefit from the funding with c.20,000 visits.
The grant is also providing opportunities for teacher development with teachers taking part in training sessions on how to run a good school trip. Sessions are taking place at leading cultural venues, including Showtown in Blackpool and the Hall for Cornwall in Truro.
Through the grant the Foundation is continuing its commitment to enrichment opportunities for every child.
The Foundation is delighted to be supporting 12 schools in the first year of the programme:
- Cape Cornwall School (Cornwall)
- Pensans Community Primary School (Cornwall)
- St Michael’s CofE Primary School (Cornwall)
- Pondhu Primary School (Cornwall)
- Brannel School (Cornwall)
- Camelford Primary School (Cornwall)
- St Stephen’s Community Primary School (Cornwall)
- Highfield Leadership Academy (Blackpool)
- Mereside Primary Academy (Blackpool)
- Devonshire Primary School (Blackpool)
- St John’s Primary School (Blackpool)
- Ark Charter Academy (Portsmouth)
Applications are open for Year 2
The Foundation is excited to announce that applications are open for Year 2. The grant programme will remain in Blackpool and Cornwall for another year to maximise the impact of the funding in both regions.
The programme is open to schools in Blackpool and Cornwall with 28% or more free school meal eligible students.
Find out more and apply, please visit: https://www.cloreduffield.org.uk/schooltripgrant
Deadline for applications: 18:00 on Friday 28 November 2025
Niki Ambrose, Headteacher of Pensans Community Primary School said: “Pensans Community Primary School is proud to be able to give children their first opportunity to experience London, made possible by the generous support of the Clore Duffield Foundation. For many of our pupils, this will be their first journey outside Cornwall and into a city rich with history and culture. We envisage that this visit will ignite awe, wonder and curiosity, providing our children with experiences that broaden horizons and strengthen aspirations. In a community where cultural capital and diversity are limited, opportunities like this are truly transformative.”
Kim Greenwood, Headteacher of Highfield Leadership Academy said: “This funding will support us to deliver a quality programme of enriching trips and experiences for our pupils, giving them access to invaluable opportunities that are not only memorable, but truly transformative. These experiences have the potential to broaden horizons, spark ambitions and help children see themselves in places they never imagined, and I am sure that they will have a lasting and meaningful impact on every pupil who takes part.
For many, our trip to London was their first time seeing our country’s capital, and for some the first time travelling outside of their community or outside the North West. We’re incredibly grateful to the Clore Duffield Foundation for their support and we look forward to delivering our exciting trips programme throughout the rest of the academic year.”
Grace, Year 11 Student at Highfield Leadership Academy said: “I can’t wait to explore London’s culture and history—it feels like such a brilliant opportunity for us to experience something new.”
Brogan, Year 11 Student at Highfield Leadership Academy said: “This trip is more than just a day out—it’s a chance to learn in a completely different way and see things we’ve only studied in class come to life.”
Coby, Year 11 Student at Highfield Leadership Academy said: “I’m really looking forward to going behind the scenes and discovering parts of London that most people don’t get to see.”
Daisy, Year 11 Student at Highfield Leadership Academy said: “For me, it’s about making memories with my friends while learning about the arts and the city—I know it’s going to be unforgettable.”
David, Year 11 Student at Highfield Leadership Academy said: “London has so much to offer, and I’m excited to take it all in. Trips like this don’t come around often, so I’m going to make the most of it.”
Press Enquiries:
Erica Bolton or Dennis Chang, Bolton & Quinn
erica@boltonquinn.com / dennis@boltonquinn.com
+44 (0)20 7221 5000
Notes to Editors
About The Clore Duffield Foundation
The Clore Duffield Foundation was established by Sir Charles Clore in 1964. Now chaired by Sir Charles Clore’s daughter, Dame Vivien Duffield, the Foundation supports UK charities working in the arts, education, social welfare and health. The Foundation’s work includes: developing programmes and partnerships to create opportunities for people through art, culture and heritage in the UK; supporting artistic talent wherever it exists and ensuring that careers in the cultural sector should be open to all; supporting new and existing Clore Learning Spaces to ensure children and young people, in particular, have the chance to benefit from art, culture and heritage and the inspiration, knowledge, joy and wellbeing they bring; and ensuring the important organisations created by the Foundation continue to be strong, impactful and resilient, including JW3, the Clore Cultural Leadership Programme and Eureka!
School Trips Grants
The Clore Duffield Foundation aims to:
work with schools from specific priority local authorities in England (Blackpool and Cornwall) in order to maximise the impact of its investment in these geographic areas
give schools the funds and capacity to deliver a quality programme of school trips that children would otherwise not be able to access
support a wide-range of curriculum and enrichment experiences for every student in each participating school
enable schools to transform their current school-trip offer
build confidence and good-practice networks in the longer-term.
The Foundation will invest up to £1million per year in the programme. Funding will initially be provided to schools for one school year.
Schools could consider trips to major regional and national museums, galleries, theatres, heritage sites; to see or participate in live music, dance and drama productions or workshops; to try new activities such as kayaking, hiking, climbing; to visit cities and built heritage or industry and more rural places of interest or beauty, including the seaside and national parks.
More information is available on the Clore Duffield Foundation website here:https://cloreduffield.org.uk/schooltripgrant