Adventure Education Trips for Schools
Experienced and highly qualified instructors sharing the best that the Highlands has to offer in outdoor adventures and experiences for younger minds.
School Residentials and Activities
At Active, we believe that pupils excel through learning outside the classroom; in particular from Schools Outdoor Adventure Activity Centres’ Educational Residential weeks. Our Outdoor Education packages offer children and staff authentic outdoor adventure activity residential experiences in a wide range of water sports, rock and hill sports as well as team activities and snow sports. Active Outdoor Pursuits have been delivering quality outdoor adventure residentials to primary and secondary school groups for over 25 years now. Our school residentials are based in Scotland at The Cairngorms Adventure Centre in The Cairngorms National Park.
To discuss options and availability, please get in touch:
Options and Prices
2026 / 2027 Prices:
- Weekend Residential – £189.00 + VAT per person.
- 2 x full day activities (Saturday and Sunday).
- Accommodation Friday and Saturday nights.
- Catering starts with breakfast on Saturday and finishes with a packed lunch on Sunday.
- 3-Day (2-Night) Residential – £289.00 + VAT per person.
- Monday to Wednesday, or Wednesday to Friday.
- 2 x half day activities and 1 x full day activity.
- 2 x evening activities.
- Accommodation for 2 nights.
- Catering starts with evening meal on day 1 and finishes with a packed lunch on day 3.
- 4-Day (3-Night) Residential – £389.00 + VAT per person.
- Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday.
- 1 x half day activity and 2 x full day activities.
- 2 x evening activities.
- Accommodation for 3 nights.
- Catering starts with evening meal on day 1 and finishes with a packed lunch on day 4.
- 5-Day (4-Night) Residential – £459.00 plus VAT per person.
- Monday to Friday.
- 1 x half day activity and 3 x full day activities.
- 3 x evening activities.
- Accommodation for 4 nights.
- Catering starts with evening meal on day 1 and finishes with a packed lunch on day 5.
Prices include:
- Full board accommodation
- Instruction / facilitation of activities.
- Safety and technical equipment
- In-course transport
- Presentation / review on the final morning with certificates for the pupils.
Day trips are from £75.00 plus VAT per pupil.
For groups of 20 or more pupils, we offer one free teacher place for every 10 paying pupils.
Email us at [email protected] for more information.
What to expect from a residential with Active Outdoor Pursuits
By choosing Active Outdoor Pursuits for your school’s outdoor residential break or activity day, you are guaranteeing them a safe, fun and enjoyable experience. Active are licensed with AALA. We have also been awarded the prestigious five star Visit Scotland Outdoor Activity provider badge and are a British Canoeing approved paddlesports Centre. We are proud to work positively with schools and authorities from throughout Great Britain.
For details of what we offer for schools, including example plans of our weekend and 5 day activity breaks and activity programmes download our schools brochure below.
Get Active on one of our fun and adventure packed school’s outdoor residential Activity breaks in Scotland. It’s all about challenge and teamwork, while experiencing new activities in a new environment. We deliver programmes that will help develop confidence and resilience in young people. We believe that the many benefits of school’s outdoor adventure Education will be visible and tangible back in the classroom.
You can find example activity programmes, as well as sample menus in our Schools Brochure:
Snowsports Activity Days & Weeks
Active offer everything from 1 day coaching to multi day snowsports trips and coaching across Scotland. Ski and snowboard lessons suit beginners to advanced levels. We offer the UK Snowsports Awards to all schools, which accredits pupils for their learning and can lead to long-term performance development.
Bring your school to Cairngorms Adventure Centre this winter for a fantastic winter schools outdoor residential break. We offer both skiing and snowboarding residentials, weekends and days. All residentials and activity days include equipment hire. Fully inclusive residential packages are available with catering options.
Activity Day Trips
Take your pupils on a day trip they will remember forever! Our adventure days are extremely popular with staff and pupils alike. Choose one single activity to develop skills or select multiple taster activities.
Our adventure days are available at many venues across Scotland and are within easy travelling distance of most schools. We may also be able to provide transport to and from your school. These trips are quick and easy to organise. We provide the technical equipment and the expertise, all you need to do is show up and get involved.
Activities include: canoeing, kayaking, white water rafting, gorge scrambling, team building, hill walking, mountain biking, climbing & abseiling, problem solving, canyoning and many more…
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Furthering Outdoor Education, Active Outdoor Pursuits has over 25 years of experience in facilitating The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition section. We are an approved expedition and activity provider.
Training, supervision and assessment can be provided by our staff for the expedition section of the DofE programme, as well as training in the skills and physical sections.
We also give young people the opportunity to complete the Gold Residential section of the programme with a multi activity or a snowsports residential.
Where Is Active Outdoors Based?
Craigower Lodge Outdoor Centre nestles in the highland village of Newtonmore within the magnificent Cairngorms National Park. It is the perfect year round location for all outdoor activities including mountain, water and snowsports.
A hub for outdoor adventure activities, Cairngorms Adventure Centre not only provides schools with adventure activity outdoor residential weeks, days and snowsports breaks but is home to worldwide recognised Instructor Training Courses and adventure journeys taking you across Scotland by foot, bike and boat.
The Cairngorms Adventure Centre sleeps up to 72 people over two floors. The centre has a large dining room for the catering of pupils and groups along with social lounges for reviews, relaxing and self reflection time.
Fundraising & Grants
The Cairngorms National Park Authority have a grant scheme available to encourage wider participation and learning about Scotland’s National Parks for those who are planning a visit or a field trip to the Cairngorms National Park.
For more information and an application pack, go to CNPA transport grants.
Further Reading:
DofE Expedition Planning: Key Dates and Booking Tips
Learning Beyond the Classroom: School Trips to Craigower Lodge Outdoor Centre
