School trips to Catalonia

Art & Design

An art school trip to Barcelona offers pupils the chance to see amazing architecture, some of the best art galleries in the world and the works of world-renowned artists including Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí.

An art and design study tour to the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona certainly won’t disappoint. The rich history of the city, as well as the talents of many well-known artists, is visible throughout the city’s many museums, landmarks and educational visits. With NST, we'll tailor-make your Barcelona art school trip itinerary to ensure that your pupils have the opportunity to explore this colourful destination whilst building on classroom-based learning and getting the very most from their art and design experience.

Learn more about our Art & Design trips to Barcelona here

Cultural

A cultural school trip to the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona certainly won’t disappoint! The seaside city is steeped in history, offering a diverse range of educational visits and language enrichment experiences. NST can tailor-make your study tour itinerary to ensure that your pupils have the opportunity to explore this colourful destination whilst building on classroom-based learning.

During an NST cultural school trip to Barcelona, pupils will experience all things Catalonian. The rich history of the city, as well as the talents of its artists including Gaudí, Picasso and Dalí, is visible throughout the city’s many museums, landmarks and attractions.

Learn more about our cultural trips to Barcelona here

Geography

A geography school trip to Catalonia provides pupils with numerous exciting study opportunities. Our most popular geography tours to the Catalonia region are designed to cover a host of study themes and complement the latest AS and A2 specifications.

The city itself provides many examples of preserved heritage and planned regeneration. Our geography field trips to Barcelona offer a choice of full day modules; Montjuïc, Port Olympic and Port Vell offer excellent case studies of redevelopment and regeneration, and the city’s distinct urban zone lends itself to comparisons with urban models.

Learn more about our Geography trips to Catalonia here

Maths

Visit the vibrant cultural city of Barcelona and discover the mathematics throughout the city! From the iconic Sagrada Família to modern buildings such as the Agbar Tower, pupils can use the city’s dramatic architecture, as well as a range of attractions and museums, to explore mathematical concepts. We’ll create an itinerary for your group that covers a wide range of learning outcomes during your school trip to Catalonia.

Learn more about our Maths trips to Catalonia here

Music 

Catalonia has a multitude of fantastic museums and galleries, while its historic past provides a wealth of cathedrals and memorable performance venues. NST has a wide range of accommodation in the surrounding coastal towns, which provide a fabulous mix of music concert venues, leisure activities and sandy beaches.

Learn more about our Music trips to Catalonia here

Primary 

A visit to Catalonia offers a great opportunity to introduce your primary school pupils to Spanish life, culture and language. We’ll base your group on the coast in safe and secure accommodation that’s still within easy reach of Barcelona, and create an itinerary that suits the age of your pupils.

Find out more about our Primary School trips to Catalonia here.

Spanish Language

Barcelona

A Spanish language school trip to the cosmopolitan city of Barcelona certainly won’t disappoint! The seaside city is steeped in history, offering a diverse range of educational visits and language enrichment experiences. 

Learn more about our Spanish language trips to Barcelona here

Southern Catalonia 

A trip to Spain’s ‘Gold Coast’ will give your language pupils the opportunity to explore a diverse area of Catakibua down to Tarragona in the south. With a range of educational visits to choose from, Southern Catalonia also boasts endless miles of golden sandy beaches, lively resorts and PortAventura theme park.

Learn more about our Spanish language trips to Southern Catalonia here

Northern Catalonia 

A trip to the Northern Catalonian coastline allows pupils to explore the small fishing ports, mountainous villages, seaside towns and larger commercial tourist resorts. All these differing communities offer alternative aspects of Catalonian and Spanish culture.

Learn more about our Spanish language trips to Northern Catalonia here

La Sagrada Familia

Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece remains a popular tourist attraction and a world renowned emblem of the city. Students will be amazed by its sheer size and its architectural complexity.

Based on Gaudí’s plans of 1954, this stunning building is still under construction and is due to be completed in 2026. During a visit here, students can walk up the spiral steps to see the openwork spires whilst at the same time stone snakes, lizards and frogs pop out from the architecture.

Nou Camp Stadium

This world-famous football stadium in Catalonia offers students the opportunity to experience the awe-inspiring size of this venue whilst also learning about the heritage and history of Barcelona FC.

Park Guell

Take a visit to the famous park which was designed by Antonio Gaudí. Beautiful examples of his extraordinary work can be seen here. The serpentine pathways take you on a journey past a magnificent fusion of architecture and natural forms, benches shaped like dragons, a gatehouse topped with fly agaric mushrooms and Casa Batlló’s melting façade, resembling skulls, masks and sharks teeth. The park’s high-point also provides fabulous views of the city.

A fascinating visit for all groups and a must for anyone studying 3D.

Montserrat

Montserrat is one of the most popular day trips in the region, giving you the opportunity to see Catalonia's countryside and take in the breathtaking views from the monastery

Garrotxa National Park

Garrotxa Natural Park is an area of outstanding natural beauty covering 120km2 and containing over 40 volcanoes and 20 basaltic lava flows. This area is renowned for its biodiversity and offers great opportunities to use our Educational Resource Pack for studies. All options include a Specialist Guide.

PortAventura

PortAventura has everything to make a trip here unforgettable! Both students and teachers will have a great time in the two amazing parks. PortAventura Park is an astonishing amusement park divided in six thematic areas with many rides and shows. Costa Caribe Aquatic Park is a water park packed with waves and slides.

Together you can travel around the six themed areas of the park: Mediterrània, China, México, Polynesia, Far West and SésamoAventura. Take in several shows, from the dazzling wonders of Teatro Imperial in China to the exotic dances of Polynesia and then enjoy the thrills and spills of the many, many rides.

Las Ramblas

Students will enjoy wandering along this famous street with its variety of shops, cafés, market stalls and street entertainers.

Museu National D'Art de Catalunya

One of the world’s leading collections of modern art, from 1850 to the present. This eclectic structure created for fine arts goes back to the 19th century. This is a collection of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance art. Also houses a separate 19th-20th century art and photography section.

Museu Picasso

A tribute to perhaps the greatest painter of modern times. Picasso’s experiments with Impressionism, Pointillism and Symbolism are shown here in his unrivalled early works. Picasso’s personal style can be noted from the Blue to Pink Period (1901-17) and a gradual move into more experimental cubism and abstract forms.

Poble Espanyol

A complete village consisting of streets and squares with reconstructions of famous or characteristic buildings from all over Catalonia and Spain. Students can practise their language skills in the many buildings housing working craftspeople, souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants. Interactive workshops on Spanish crafts such as ceramics and leather jewellery, and Spanish cooking are also available for groups at Poble Espanyol.

Tour planning service

With NST, you’ll get your own dedicated, knowledgeable Tour Co-ordinator who’ll work with you from start to finish. You’ll benefit from their unrivalled destination knowledge, and their experience gained from working with many other groups too. They’ll tailor-make your itinerary from scratch and take care of everything for you:

• Pulling together an itinerary that runs smoothly
• Planning the right balance of visits every day with realistic timings
• Pre-arranging and pre-booking your visits, entrance tickets, passes and meals

You’ll receive your final itinerary a full 4-weeks before you travel too.

Free school trip promotion pack

We’ll support you and provide everything you need to advertise your school trip around school and to parents. Our free school trip promotion pack consists of:

• Parents’ letter & permission slip template for you to complete A3 posters to promote your trip around school
• PowerPoint presentation templates which you can tailor to your own needs
• Parents’ leaflets covering how NST manage safety, financial protection and details of our travel insurance
• Online parents’ video which showcases the benefits of taking a school trip

For selected destinations, we’ll provide a trip launch web page using video footage and imagery. This web page is provided by a weblink and can be shared with pupils and parents in many ways.

Risk assessment support including preview visits

Risk assessment plays a vitally important part in the planning and organisation on any school tour.

Our risk assessment guide aims to help you understand more about your obligations and how you can more effectively manage group safety on your next educational visit and provide you with risk assessments for your trip. 

Planning first school trip

Organising your first school trip can appear to be a daunting process.

If you're planning your first school trip, our guide will help to take you through each step of the planning process, answering frequently asked questions and providing tips and support along the way.

Our helpful guide covers the following:

• Choosing your destination
• Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head
• Promoting your tour in school
• Confirming your booking
• Tailor-make your tour
• Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment)
• Quick reference timeline
• Pre-tour checklist

View our essential guide to a successful school trip here.

Get live updates on your group's tour location

Locate My Trip uses GPS technology and is the easy, convenient way for your school to follow your location whilst on tour. Specifically designed to provide reassurance to both parents and teachers, NST will know where your group are 24/7. If your schedule needs to change, we’ll put plans in place to keep your tour on track. 

With Locate My Trip your group can also share photos and videos with the school and parents, via a secure link, to keep them updated on your experience whilst you’re away.

Watch our short Locate My Trip video here.

Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager

Save time and stay on track with your school trip admin with our online orgnaniser - designed to help busy teachers like you.

With My Tour Manager, you'll be able to download FREE resources and access trip paperwork online and in one place. Your personalised checklist details what you need to do and by when, plus you'll receive fortnightly reminders too.

What's more, you can take all your trip documents on the go whilst on your tour with our app, My Tour Manager-On-the-Go.

Find out more and watch out short My Tour Manager video here.

Free classroom resources

We've created a range of free geography resources and educational posters to brighten up your classroom!

Take a look at our downloadable posters here.

Brexit & your school trip

How will Brexit affect my school trip?

Following the end of the transition period there are several changes that will affect groups travelling with us to the EU.

For more information on these changes, visit our dedicated Brexit page here.

If you're travelling with NST and have any specific questions. please contact your Educational Travel Advisor.