email: support@true-adventure.co.uk

call: 01730 812742

6,153 metres climbed to summit the impressive Stok Kangri

For Schools

I think I want to launch an expedition, how can I get started?

If you are interested in providing your students with these kind of personal development opportunities, call us on 01730 812742 or drop us a line to chat@true-adventure.co.uk. We would be happy to visit you at school to discuss different destinations and activities to find what is best for your school or college.

Having seen a bespoke itinerary based on our chat, if you decide to launch an expedition we will come in to school to run an initial student presentation, followed by a parents presentation a week later and a launch meeting the following week.

What would be our responsibilities as a school?

Each school is assigned an Expedition Manager who is responsible for running regular team meetings to help your students prepare, plan and fundraise for their expedition. We understand how demanding teaching can be and want to help as much as possible by alleviating administration throughout the programme.

We can work around your schedule to set meeting dates, provide risk assessments, send letters home and communicate with the team and parents through the student portal ‘My True Adventure’.

How does True Adventure differ to other expedition providers?

We respect all the main expedition companies and work closely with them as part of the Expedition Provider’s Association to raise industry standards. However, we are all a little different.

As a family run business, our whole team has considerable expertise and passion for expeditions, personal development and travel and we take pride in every expedition being genuinely bespoke. Our motivation comes from the positive impact we have on the whole expedition team as well as the locals living in the countries we travel to. This is why we're proud to partner with unique and sustainable projects to ensure every expedition has a genuine impact.

We believe in the value of face-to-face support to help with fundraising and planning, which is why we visit our schools at least once a term before departure.
We're large enough to have industry-leading support and safety systems in place but small enough to care about all the details, such as ensuring your Expedition Leader is appointed early enough to run your training expedition and making sure the Operations Room is staffed by experienced, full-time staff who know who you are and understand your itinerary.

Our school is already involved in the Duke of Edinburgh and International Baccalaureate programmes, could these be linked to school expeditions?

Absolutely! We have run several expeditions which have allowed students to gain their Silver and Bronze Awards during their time overseas. We employ several well-known and experienced Expedition Leaders who are Duke of Edinburgh Accredited Assessors and our Expedition Managers can help the team plan routes during team meetings.

School expeditions complement the International Baccalaureate programme particularly well, as they provide a chance for students to enhance personal development through experiential learning and undoubtedly enable journeys of self-discovery. Teams can complete CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) hours by taking part in our unique and distinguished projects

We already have a link school overseas, could they be our project partners?

Of course! If you already have connections with a link school overseas, you could spend the project phase there whilst experiencing the benefits of our safety and back up. We could then add on other phases such as trekking or other adventure activities to make the most of your time in-country.

There is somewhere I would love to take my students but I cannot see it on your list, can we go there?

Our Expeditions page shows a selection of different opportunities and we are continuously adding to and diversifying it. Please feel free to contact us and we could create something bespoke with you.

What happens if we cannot find enough teachers to staff our expeditions?

We consider a good team size to comprise around 14-18 students and allocate an Expedition Leader and School Leaders per team accordingly. If you do not have enough teachers to volunteer as School Leaders, we can place an Expedition Assistant instead who are often aspirant leaders or past Venturers.

For Parents

How do we pay for the expedition?

Venturers are asked to pay a £250 deposit upon signing up to be part of the team at the launch meeting. After which, payments are made through a standing order of monthly payments with a final sum to be paid before departure.

We encourage Venturers to fundraise as much as possible so they feel ownership of their expedition and generally find 80% of students raise 80% of the cost. To encourage this, standing orders can be set up in your son or daughters name from 16 years old.

What kind of protection do we have as parents?

We take your protection seriously and go about ensuring full protection in various ways, starting with being full ATOL license holders in order to safeguard your payments. Your son or daughter is also protected by our insurance which is extremely comprehensive. See our individual badges at the bottom of the page for more information.

Can I speak to my son or daughter while they are on expedition?

You can track your son or daughter’s progress throughout their expedition by firstly seeing their day-to-day itinerary and also through a map displaying signals from the team tracking device. You can view these in real-time through the ‘My True Adventure’ portal.

Venturers are not advised to bring their mobile phones overseas as we provide the team with comprehensive communications such as mobile phones and satellite communications. In the event of a family emergency, our Operations Room can get a message to the team if necessary.

Can you organise expeditions for parents too?

We’re often asked this and the simple answer is yes! True Adventure specialises in school expeditions and we have no plans to become a mainstream travel operator. However, as every itinerary we create is bespoke, we can suit all specific needs. We have organised expeditions for charities and groups of individuals over the past 10 years, so if you have a team ready to go, let us know and we’ll do what we can to help.

For Venturers

Why should I go on expedition with my school?

Your peers will often tell you that going on expedition changed their lives. Being on expedition, you can have experiences that you may never have thought possible such as trekking through snow-capped mountains, living among indigenous tribes on project, rafting down white water rapids or interacting with wildlife.

Not to mention the lifelong friends you will make, it is a fantastic opportunity to learn how to navigate yourself across the world if you are considering travelling more in the future and it can provide you with a new outlook on life.

Will this experience make me stand out?

Taking part in an expedition can be hard work and requires commitment through preparation and fundraising. By making the trip your own and taking part in different leadership roles, an expedition will undoubtedly help you to stand out through a personal statement or CV. Every Venturer will receive an individual student report from their Expedition Leader which can be used as a reference in future applications.

How can I fund raise?

There are hundreds of ways you can go about your individual fundraising and we find that the best ideas come from students. We will of course support you in your fundraising and finding the right balance between it and your other school or personal commitments.

Fundraising is however your responsibility and quite often one effective and well organised group fundraising event can make a huge difference. It is totally achievable to fundraise the total amount of your expedition, we know this because our Venturers do time and time again!

If we decide to drop out of the expedition before we go, can we get all our money back?

This depends on many factors but the simple answer is, no, we’re afraid not. We start incurring costs from the moment you apply, such as for administration, recces, itinerary research and planning and travelling to your school every half term, so we still need to cover these costs even if you don’t go on expedition. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule however, so we advise you read the Terms and Conditions very carefully to ensure you are fully aware of what you are agreeing to before signing up. If in any doubt, do get in touch.

For Leaders

What does True Adventure require from new Expedition Leaders?

If you are interested in leading for us, we would be keen to meet you somewhere convenient for us both and discuss your experience over a brew. Our underlying requirements for an Expedition Leader are for them to be Mountain Leader Assessed, have previously lead an expedition to a similar destination and have experience in working with young people.

Can I have a say in which expedition I lead?

Yes. We try to match Leaders to expeditions depending on your experience, personality and travel interests. We are proud to see our Leaders return to us year after year and build relationships with a school they have previously lead for. We will do our best to introduce you to your team as early as possible and train them in the UK.

I want to lead an expedition, how shall I get in touch?

Great, call us on 01730 812742 to speak to Emma Mitchell or email leaders@true-adventure.co.uk. We look forward to welcoming you to the family!

If you have any other questions please call us on 01730 812742 or email us at support@true-adventure.co.uk

Join the family.
Here's where to start

1

Drop us a line or give us a call

We don't have a 'sales department' so any one of us may answer the phone and we're always delighted to help with your questions.
01730 812742

2

Let's meet up for a chat

We love to chat about expeditions over a cuppa! We're happy to visit you to discuss your expedition aspirations or via phone if you're short on time.

3

Launch the expedition in school

Announcing an expedition to the school is always exciting. We present to students in assembly then a week or so later to parents after school.

4

Form the team

Unlike typical school trips, we collect all applications and payments directly, reducing admin time for teachers.

Teachers, drop us a line below and we’ll call for a chat or dial:
01730 812742
chat@true-adventure.co.uk

*Compulsory fields