Are you a charity? No – we are a social enterprise, which means we are a profit-making business with philanthropic aims at our heart. This ensures we are able to run fully supported and financially protected international trips. It also means we can provide long-term benefits and assurances to the communities we work with and support local economies through providing secure employment and keeping a remainder of our profits in-country. We have also established our own 100% giving charity, The Camps Foundation. Every penny donated through the Camps Foundation goes directly to our projects, helping to provide further support to our ongoing initiatives.
What projects will they be working on? During their time in country your child will be working on a variety of different community, wildlife and environmental projects. We cannot guarantee exactly what projects they will work on, as this will depend on the most pressing needs at the time they travel, however examples of our ongoing projects include constructing school classrooms, supplying drinking water, terrestrial and marine wildlife conservation, tree-planting and micro finance initiatives. You can find further information about this on the Global Impact section of our website.
How will my child balance this with their schoolwork? We understand that it can be a daunting task to undertake fundraising alongside schoolwork. However, this is a great opportunity for your child to show commitment and organisation to the cause and only adds to the feeling of achievement once they’ve arrived in country for the start of their expedition. We have a dedicated fundraising team ready and waiting to help you make the fundraising process as easy and stress-free as possible.
Will you support my child to fundraise the expedition cost? Absolutely. Fundraising for many families not only enables their child to join the expedition but, in many cases, helps to prepare them for the independence and maturity needed on an expedition. We understand that every family’s situation is different and have different payment options in place so you can decide what will best suit your family. Our dedicated team are on hand throughout the lead up to the expedition to provide your child with personal fundraising support – face to face, over the phone, via social media. Your child will also have access to their own Traveller Gateway once they sign up, an online portal with hundreds of resources to help them plan and run fundraising activities. Read more about our extensive support on the Fundraising page of our website.
Will my child be able to contact home whilst on expedition? We always try to encourage students to embrace the ‘off-grid’ nature of our expeditions and recommend that they leave their phones at home. We operate a ‘no news is good news’ policy but we promise that if any traveller has been prescribed medication or admitted to a health clinic whilst on expedition, their emergency contacts will be informed.
How do you manage my child’s safety on their expedition? Your child’s safety is our number one priority. Unlike other school expedition providers, we own and manage our own camps which enables us to ensure an unparalleled level of security for our travellers. We only use vetted transport approved by nationally recognised accreditations meaning you can rest assured in the knowledge that they will be receiving the very best in safety management and quality of experience. Read about our safety procedures in more detail here.
How do you manage my students’ safety on their expedition? The safety of your team is our number one priority. Unlike other school expedition providers, we own and manage our own camps which enables us to ensure an unparalleled level of security for your team. We only use vetted transport approved by nationally recognised accreditations meaning you can rest assured in the knowledge that you will be receiving the very best in safety management and quality of experience. Read about our safety procedures in more detail here.
What will the food be like? There will be a variety of western and traditional style dishes throughout your expedition. We can cater for most dietary requirements, but please make sure you let us know before you travel to allow our in-country team to plan and prepare for your arrival.
Do I need a visa? Depending on your expedition, you may or may not need a visa. You can find specific information about visas on your traveller gateway.
What vaccinations will I need? This will depend on a number of different factors, including your own personal medical history. We recommend visiting your GP or travel clinic as early as possible (at least 3 months before travel) to find out what vaccinations you’ll need for your chosen destination.
What will my spending money be needed for? All of your accommodation, food and water is included in your expedition cost however we recommend that you bring a small amount of spending money. This can be used for extra meals out, drinks and buying local crafts and souvenirs for your friends and family back home. Once you’re signed up, you can check your Traveller Gateway for more information.
Will there be other schools in camp? Depending on the size of your school group, there may be a chance that you will be partnered up with another school. At any one time we have dozens of students travelling with many schools from around the world which means it will be highly likely that you will bump into some new people whilst in camp. This can provide you with a great opportunity to meet new people and make some new friends.
Will I be able to contact home whilst on expedition? We recommend that you don’t bring your phone with you whilst on expedition so that you can truly immerse yourself in the ‘off-grid’ nature of the expedition. It’s a rare opportunity to disconnect from the online world and unplugging from your smartphone will truly enhance your experience. We can assure you that should there be any emergency situation, we have phones available to contact home.
I want to go on expedition, but I don’t know how to raise the money – how do I start? Don’t worry – we are here to support you! We completely understand that raising the full amount for the expedition can seem daunting at first, but we have thousands of students just like you who manage to do it every single year. Check out our Fundraising page for more information about how we’ll support you.
How do I launch an expedition in my school? Simply get in touch here, and we’ll arrange a time for you to discuss with your dedicated Expedition Co-ordinator.
I’d love to offer this kind of opportunity to my students, but how much of my time will it take up? Very little. We pride ourselves on offering full expedition support to allow your school to benefit from the advantages of running an expedition with us without any extra work
Do I get to travel on my school expedition? Yes. Teachers are fundamental to school expeditions and teacher places are available for all of our expeditions. Simply arrange a meeting with your Expedition Co-ordinator to discuss the next steps.
We already have a number of trips going on in school, can I still run a Camps International expedition? Absolutely. Our expeditions are unique in their make-up, and with full end to end management from our team, we make it easy for you to offer more incredible opportunities to your students.
What if only one student from the school wants to travel? We are unique in the fact that we have no minimum numbers on our trips. We have options in place to ensure that no matter how many students travel from your school, they will all still get the same experience out of it.
Do you support students through their fundraising? Absolutely. Fundraising not only enables students to join the expedition but in many cases, helps prepare the students for the independence and maturity needed on an expedition. Throughout the lead up to the expedition, your Expedition Co–ordinator and our dedicated fundraising support team will help students/parents through the fundraising process and point them to the wealth of support available – including hundreds of online resources and face to face workshops. Read more about our fundraising support here.
Are your expeditions ‘ethical’? Yes, and we’re so proud of that fact. “Ethical journeys” has been our slogan since we began and over the past two decades we’ve developed our unique model of delivering a long–term, truly sustainable impact to some of the poorest communities and endangered habitats all across the world. Our ethical policies are at the heart of what we do and you can read more about them here.
How many Connect with Camps calls is it best to have? We have found that 2 or 3 calls works very well as it gives the students the chance to properly investigate a subject and build a relationship with our in-country staff. We have a number of models that we have built from experience with schools and those are available in the online space.
Do students have to be advanced students of Spanish to do the Connect with Camps calls in that language? We have two sets of materials in Spanish, aimed respectively at GCSE and A Level students. Our Latin American staff are all native speakers and are very used to dealing with students, in camp or on Zoom, with different levels of language attainment. It can be intimidating for students to have a Zoom conversation in a second language, but it can be fun as well and those meetings can be pitched to the level of the students.
Can my students take part in Real World Studies and ‘Connect with Camps’ call without going on expedition? Yes our resources are completely free for all teachers, regardless of whether your school is travelling with us. However, the benefits to student development are hugely enhanced by the opportunity to apply the learning in real-world situations on expedition.
Does Real World Studies link to the curriculum? All the materials are created by teachers working in the classroom. They are designed to support teachers and to fit into a scheme of work within the curriculum.
