As we all know, travel can sometimes throw up the unexpected. But we’ve been arranging school trips for the best part of four decades and, at this point, there’s very little we haven’t seen.
So, while we can’t promise your school trip won’t be affected by travel delays, freak weather or some other unexpected event, what we can say is we'll be on hand to make sure you get back on track as quickly as possible.
But we would say that, wouldn’t we? So, rather than harp on about how great we'll be if something does go wrong, take a look at how we’ve helped real groups in a variety of situations (and find out from them how much support we actually provided).
The Royal Grammar School – Sestriere, Italy
What happened?
Unfortunately, the ski group from The Royal Grammar School encountered some serious logistical problems on their school ski trip to Sestriere.
Firstly, on their flight to Italy, the airline lost their luggage. Nightmare, right? Thankfully, our ski team swept into action and managed to secure ski gear for the whole group and they ended up not missing a single hour of skiing. Result.
Surely, they’d had their fair share of bad luck? Well, yes, but more was on its way. British Airways cancelled their return flights, leaving them stranded in Italy.
Again, our team worked tirelessly to make alternative travel arrangements so the group could get home safely, having enjoyed their trip despite everything that was thrown at them.
They said:
I cannot recommend Halsbury enough. I had chosen them as our travel provider as they had a reputation for going the extra mile to support schools and this seemed prudent given the ever-changing travel regulations due to COVID.
In fact, it was the meltdown at British Airways that impacted our trip of seventy boys, with no luggage arriving with our flight and our two return flights cancelled.
Despite this, every student was able to ski all their allotted hours as Halsbury secured ski gear for the whole party and they worked through the night for our return journey to find effective solutions to get us home.
The in-resort rep was phenomenal, and I had instant mobile access to up to three members of staff who were working on solutions to our logistical problems.
If I had handpicked the people to support us on our trip, they could not have done a better job.
It is a testament to their service that we had a huge number of parents write in to say how impressed with the school and Halsbury they had been and how in awe they were that we had managed to run such a successful trip despite the major logistical issues.
St. Mark’s West Essex Catholic School – Berlin, Germany
What happened?
Like many groups, St. Mark’s West Essex Catholic School were due to travel on P&O, until they suspended their services when they made 800 staff redundant.
It wasn’t clear if or when P&O would sail again so, to make sure trips could run without disruption, we took the decision early in the crisis to rebook groups free of charge with alternative Channel crossing providers.
This gave groups peace of mind that their trip would run as scheduled without having to worry about what was happening with P&O.
The group from St. Mark’s West Essex Catholic School were rebooked onto the Eurotunnel.
They said:
Halsbury were always friendly and always patient. When the P&O issue arose, this was dealt with very quickly and no one seemed to express frustration at my ringing thrice in a day. This was our best ever trip to Berlin (our 12th) and Lynsey was brilliant – she could not have been more helpful and informative.
Coombe Boys' School - Alp 2500, Spain
What?
When Storm Dennis hit, it coincided with our biggest departure weekend for ski groups and affected many of them, including Coombe Boys’ School.
Roads, planes and ferries were all severely disrupted, making the possibility of many school trips needing to be cancelled a real possibility.
However, our team jumped into action to keep our groups moving. Staff at Halsbury HQ spent the entire weekend answering calls and making the quick decisions needed to make sure we could get groups to where they needed to be.
We even had staff down in Dover to support the delayed coaches.
And our in-resort reps were roped in too, to liaise with local coach companies and accommodation suppliers so groups could reach their destinations and get some well-earned rest.
Only one group couldn’t travel in the end (but we offered to rearrange their ski trip to Easter at no additional cost to them).
They said:
This is exactly why we choose Halsbury Ski. The support we received on that fateful evening will always be appreciated. What other company would have their M.D. on the phone to French gendarmes translating for you if you needed it?!!
Wyke Sixth Form College – Ypres & Waterloo, Belgium
What happened?
After a routine inspection of wheels during planned maintenance, an unusual level of wear was detected on Eurotunnel shuttles. This forced Eurotunnel to seriously reduce the number of scheduled departures. It looked like Eurotunnel would run just one service per hour instead of the usual four.
So Wyke Sixth Form College’s trip wasn’t disrupted, we booked them onto a ferry crossing at Halsbury’s expense before finding out whether Eurotunnel would refund the unused crossing or not (because it was more important to make sure the group could enjoy their trip as planned).
They said:
Many thanks for this! I was alarmed when I first saw your email, but once I had found time to read it properly, I massively appreciated what you and Halsbury had done for us! Superb service – many thanks.
Gatehouse School - Pamporovo, Bulgaria
What happened?
When Covid-19 hit, ski trips were the first school trips to be affected. In fact, every single one of our Easter 2020 ski trips had to be cancelled, as borders shut and travel was banned.
Gatehouse School were due to ski in Pamporovo, Bulgaria. But (like many) their trip had to be cancelled.
This was a really tricky situation, as it developed so quickly and was completely out of our control. And, unlike a cancelled flight or a motorway breakdown, there was no alternative solution available to get groups moving again.
So, our team did the only thing they could do. They kept in regular contact with all our groups, including Gatehouse School, to keep them up-to-date on the latest information and to sort out refunds and postponements.
They said:
We were very happy with how Halsbury Travel dealt with our cancelled school trip. This was a very unpredictable time and the company always kept us in the loop regarding our options and changes. They were very assuring and kept their word regarding everything they said and promised. A great company with experienced people running it! Would certainly advise booking your school trips through them!
Bicester Learning Academy - Strasbourg, France
What happened?
After terrorists attacked Paris, we made the decision to allow concerned groups to postpone their trips, paying only the fees charged by suppliers. Bicester Learning Academy were one of the schools who decided to go ahead and postpone their trip.
Our team negotiated hard with suppliers to try to keep cancellation costs to a minimum – and capped at 10%.
In Bicester Learning Academy’s case, our local partners weren't willing to allow the group to cancel without charge (because other UK groups had decided to continue with their trips).
We completely understood why the group were unhappy to travel at that time, so we decided to absorb the additional costs, meaning the group were charged just 10% cancellation fees (which meant parents could be refunded the majority of the trip fees).
They said:
Thank you so much for sorting this out – this is very generous of Halsbury and is greatly appreciated.
Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School – Valencia, Spain
What happened?
Remember when Monarch Airlines collapsed? Well, Bishop Ullathorne Catholic School were due to travel on that airline to Valencia. However, when Monarch collapsed, their flights were cancelled and it really looked like their trip would be too.
However, our team worked hard to find alternative flights and did...but the only option was to fly into Marseille. So, we booked that flight and arranged a coach to take them the rest of the way to Valencia.
They said:
Just wanted to say that this year's trip was the best yet!
Other groups said:
We will be forever grateful with regards to the work everybody at Halsbury did to ensure the trip went ahead following the collapse of Monarch Airlines. Horbury Academy, Rome
Thank you to all of your team who have worked so hard to make sure we can travel to Naples. New Mills School and Sixth Form Centre, Naples and Sorrento
Oasis Academy Silvertown – Cologne, Germany
What happened?
On their school trip to Cologne, Oasis Academy Silvertown lost a backpack (or it may have been stolen). Unfortunately, to make matters worse, all of their passports were being stored in that backpack.
Thankfully, the group leader had the foresight to leave photocopies of all the passports at the school (and this is why we recommend doing this).
So, while the group reported the incident to the police, our team contacted immigration at Calais to explain what had happened.
The headteacher at the school was able to scan in all the non-British passport copies and also sent a letter naming all the staff and students on the trip.
By 18.30, immigration were able to track all the passengers and prepare for their arrival at Calais, allowing them to pass through immigration without too much delay.
They said:
I wanted to say a huge thank you from all of us for everything you did yesterday. We actually got an earlier ferry and immigration were brilliant.
The City of London Academy (Southwark) - Berlin, Germany
What happened?
Unfortunately, the group missed their flight on the way out to Berlin.
Luckily, our team were able to rearrange their flights and coach transfer, so they didn’t miss out on their trip.
The group said:
I cannot stress how fantastic the whole company were in supporting us with the trip and re-booking our flights.
Loreto College - Madrid, Spain
The group from Loreto College had been enjoying their Spanish trip to Madrid when EasyJet announced the cancellation of their return flight with less than 24 hours notice.
Understandably, the group leader was extremely concerned and called us on the emergency number we give all our groups so they can reach us 24 hours a day.
We assured the group leader we’d get it sorted and (spoiler alert) ...we did.
We checked with their insurers to make sure they were covered and within an hour and a half of the airline offices opening the following morning, we’d sourced the best alternative flights (at the best prices) to get the group home, with a total delay of just 18 hours (a bit of a miracle in the circumstances).
While we were sorting the flights, other team members had been looking into alternatives, including coaches, scheduled bus seats from Madrid to London and every other option we could think of. Thankfully, because we’d acted so quickly, we were able to get the group all onto one flight the following day.
We arranged for the group to stay an extra night at the hotel and organised airport transfers. And (of course) the group leader was very relieved.
We've even helped groups who didn't originally book with us...
Having been arranging school trips for nearly 40 years, we’ve now got considerable resources and excellent relationships with suppliers that mean we’ve even been able to step in to help groups whose trips have been cancelled by other providers, so the students didn’t miss out.
King Henry VIII Comprehensive School - USA Ski Trip
What happened?
Staff and students at King Henry VIII Comprehensive School were looking forward to their ski trip to the USA when, unfortunately, their travel company collapsed.
We were able to step in and provide the trip in their place, making sure those students didn’t have to miss out on a trip they’d been looking forward to for such a long time.
They said:
Halsbury saved the day! When a school ski trip I was running to the USA was cancelled, due to the collapse of another company, Halsbury stepped in and saved the trip. The work that they did to ensure that the transition was smooth was excellent.
They gave us the confidence to run trips again due to the support and organisation of the team. I’m still grateful to this day as what was nearly a disaster turned out to be a great experience for the students.
Meole Brace - Bardonecchia, Italy
What happened?
This one was actually featured on Channel 5’s ‘Cowboy Traders’. The programme was investigating a school travel company that had let down hundreds of pupils and dozens of schools by not passing on payment for accommodation, transport and ski hire, meaning all those schools had to cancel their ski trips.
The programme wanted to help at least one of the groups let down by this other travel company, so they turned to Halsbury.
We’d been recommended to them as a school tour operator with an excellent reputation and with all the essential bonding (ABTA, ATOL and STF), so they knew they could rely on us to help and they wouldn’t risk the school being let down twice.
We provided the flights, accommodation, equipment hire, ski tuition, lift passes and even a hoodie for each passenger as a memento of the trip.
They said:
We were blown away by the depth of interest and care taken by the company. Our students were made to feel really special and had the most amazing weekend after having been let down so dramatically. The whole programme ran smoothly and efficiently and the provision of accommodation, hotel facilities, ski hire and lessons were of a very high standard.
Want to find out more about how we support you every step of the way?
Check out this guide. And get in touch to start planning your next school trip today.