Far Far Away

Ashford School’s tag line is “Adventurous Learning” and it shows in all of the exciting trips they offer

Our students have many opportunities for long-distance travel but the adventure starts much closer to home in the Weald of Kent where pupils take part in unforgettable adventures closer to home. These extend the ethos of ‘outdoor learning’ that starts in Prep School and extends into Senior School. These adventures are key to the development of character traits and learning habits that sit at the core of an Ashford School Education. These rich and varied experiences showcase Ashford School’s commitment to Adventurous Learning—developing confident, reflective, and collaborative young people ready to meet life’s challenges with skill and spirit.
Ashford students have…

Explored Canterbury Cathedral’s medieval pilgrim trail which still impacts the local economy
Tackled engineering challenges with Kubota at Lister Wilder
Ran a mock trial with City of London Magistrates Court

Long-distance school trips

New York’s Broadway for Drama and Art
Portugal for a sports tour
A Physics trip to see the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland is coming up

A record number of pupils will take their Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards in 2025

Simon Burke, DofE leader at Ashford School, says: “This brings significant benefits including leadership, teamwork, self-motivation, self-reliance, communication, confidence, resilience and consideration for others. The benefits go on and on.”

Duke of Edinburgh

These awards require participants to take part in ‘unaccompanied expeditions’. These are cross country walks without direct adult supervision or leadership. The character traits developed are the building blocks of socialisation and enhanced social cohesion that was disrupted in many children during the COVID lockdowns.
These rigorous and physically demanding ‘trips’ require thorough training, including first aid and navigation as well as some practice expeditions. These are designed to ensure that participants can operate independently yet safely. Three days in blistering 31°C heat across the North Downs nurtures resilience, teamwork and social cohesion over long distances and fatigue. Meanwhile, Sixth Formers pursuing their Gold Award cycled over 250 km in the Netherlands, retracing World War 2’s Operation Market Garden and reflecting on modern history while planning routes and camping without access to the latest technology.