Trips and Workshops
At St Martin's, we believe that learning beyond the classroom is essential for personal growth, curiosity, and confidence. Our range of educational trips and residentials offers pupils experiences that enrich their learning and help them flourish socially, emotionally, and spiritually.
School Trips
We carefully plan a wide range of visits to complement the curriculum and broaden horizons, including:
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Cultural and historical sites such as museums and galleries
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Nature-based adventures including farms, forests, and wildlife centres
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STEM-focused experiences at science centres
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Creative outings to theatres, music performances and art exhibitions
Trips 2025/26
Year 1
Theatre The Snowman
Pupils were delighted to visit Birmingham Town Hall to experience The Snowman accompanied by a live orchestra. The magical performance combined music, storytelling, and animation, creating a memorable experience that inspired a love of the arts and live music.
Continents and Oceans Workshop
Pupils enjoyed a fun and interactive workshop with Freshwater Theatre, exploring the world's continents and oceans. Through drama, storytelling, and hands-on activities, children developed their geographical knowledge and gained a greater understanding of our diverse and interconnected world.
Shropshire Hills
Year 1 enjoyed an exciting trip exploring the work of Mary Anning and the geology of the Shropshire Hills. The visit brought science to life, helping children discover fossils, rocks, and the amazing history of our natural world.
Year 2
Great Fire of London
Pupils thoroughly enjoyed an interactive workshop with Freshwater Theatre, bringing the story of the Great Fire of London to life. Through drama, role play, and storytelling, children explored the events of 1666 and gained a deeper understanding of this important period in history in a fun and engaging way.
Black Country Museum
Pupils enjoyed a fascinating visit to the Black Country Living Museum, where they explored toys and homes from the past. Through hands-on experiences and immersive activities, children discovered how daily life has changed over time and gained a deeper understanding of local history.
Botanical Gardens
Pupils enjoyed an exciting visit to Birmingham Botanical Gardens, where they explored a variety of plants and learned about their life cycles. Through engaging activities and hands-on learning, children developed their understanding of how plants grow, reproduce, and thrive in different environments.
Year 3
Stone Age Britain Workshop
Our pupils took part in a brilliant Dantastic Stone Age Britain workshop, exploring how early humans lived, hunted and built shelters. It was a hands‑on, memorable experience that brought their learning about Stone Age Britain to life.
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Thinktank
Our pupils had a fantastic visit to the Birmingham Thinktank, exploring science through hands‑on exhibits and an exciting workshop all about forces. They investigated pushes, pulls and motion through practical experiments, helping them connect classroom learning to real‑world science. It was a memorable day that brought their understanding of forces to life.
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Wroxeter Roman Village
Our pupils loved their visit to Wroxeter Roman Village, where they explored the remains of one of Britain’s largest Roman settlements and discovered what daily life was like in Roman times. Walking among real archaeological structures helped them deepen their understanding of Roman Britain in a vivid, hands‑on and memorable way.
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year 4
Anglo - Saxons and Beowolf Workshop
Our pupils took part in a brilliant Freshwater Anglo‑Saxon and Beowulf workshop, diving into the world of early settlers, warriors and epic storytelling. They explored Anglo‑Saxon life and stepped into the legend of Beowulf, helping them connect their history learning to vivid, hands‑on experiences. It brought their understanding of Anglo‑Saxons and Beowulf to life in an exciting and memorable way.
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Thinktank
Our pupils really enjoyed the Thinktank “Under Your Skin” workshop, where they explored how the human body works through hands‑on investigation and interactive science activities. They learned about organs, skeletons and body systems in a fun, memorable way that deepened their understanding of the human body and brought their learning to life.
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Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
Our pupils had a wonderful visit to the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, exploring the fascinating world of the Ancient Egyptians through real artefacts, stories and hands‑on discovery. They learned about mummification, pharaohs, hieroglyphics and daily life along the Nile, deepening their understanding of Ancient Egypt in a vivid and memorable way.
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year 5
Ancient Greece Workshop
Our pupils had a fantastic time taking part in the Dantastic Ancient Greece workshop, exploring myths, daily life and famous figures from Greek history through drama, storytelling and hands‑on activities. They stepped into the world of heroes, gods and city‑states, deepening their understanding of Ancient Greece in a lively, memorable and engaging way.
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National Space Centre
Our pupils had an exciting trip to the National Space Centre, exploring rockets, planets and the science behind space travel through immersive exhibits and hands‑on discovery. They loved seeing real spacecraft, walking through interactive galleries and deepening their understanding of space and astronomy in a fun, memorable and inspiring way.
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Forge Mill Farm - Sandwell Valley
Our pupils enjoyed a wonderful trip to Forge Mill Farm in Sandwell Valley as part of Farming Fortnight, exploring real farm life up close. They met the animals, learned how food is produced, and discovered the importance of caring for the land and environment. It was a hands‑on, memorable experience that deepened their understanding of farm life and where our food comes from.
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year 6
RAF Cosford
Our pupils had an inspiring visit to RAF Cosford, linking directly to their learning about World War Two. They explored historic aircraft, discovered how technology and engineering shaped the war, and learned about the experiences of the people who served. The trip helped bring their understanding of WW2 to life in a memorable, hands‑on way.
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Windrush Workshop
Our pupils took part in a powerful Freshwater Windrush workshop, exploring the journeys, stories and experiences of the Windrush generation through drama, role‑play and storytelling. They learned about courage, community and the impact of migration on modern Britain, deepening their understanding of Windrush history in a meaningful and memorable way.
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Broadway Plaza End of Year Treat
Our pupils rounded off the year with a brilliant team‑building day at Broadway Plaza, enjoying VR headsets, bowling and crazy golf before returning to school for a much‑anticipated sleepover. The activities helped them strengthen friendships, practise collaboration and celebrate their achievements, making it a fun, memorable end‑of‑year experience that supported their learning through team building, cooperation and shared adventure.
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Residentials
Sandwell are extremely fortunate to have their own residential centres, Ingestre Hall, Frank Chapman, Edgmond Hall and Plas Gwynant. Going away from home on a residential is such a special part of being at school, building lifelong memories and taking part in activities and experiences that you may not normally have the opportunity to do. It builds friendships and skills such as resilience, confidence perseverance and teamwork.
St Martin’s children have three opportunities to experience these wonderful centres, in years 4, 5 and 6. We have committed to visiting three of the Sandwell centres, one each year on a three year rolling programme, giving children from year 4 onwards, three opportunities to go on a residential trip during their time with us.
This also allows parents, especially those with more than one child, to plan both logistically and financially for the residential trips that their children may want to go on.
Residentials usually last for two nights and tend to cost approximately £150, which includes the centre (accommodation, food, activities) and the transport to and from the centres. We tend to book the trips for the Spring term, meaning the weather is slightly better and we are avoiding the summer SATS assessment window for year 6.
Expression of interest forms are sent out in the first instance to gauge interest in the trip, ensuring it is viable.
Once we are sure the trip can go ahead, we ask for a small deposit to secure the place for your child. The trip is then added to ParentPay, giving parents time to pay in instalments.
In the rare occasion of the trip being over-subscribed at the point of expression of interest, we will offer places by drawing names fairly from a raffle, with unsuccessful children being placed on a waiting list.
Sandwell Residential Centres
Edgmond Hall
At Edgmond Hall we utilise a child centred approach to create a perfectly balanced programme of discovery, learning, challenge, support and reflection. Our programmes are not about how much we can cram into a day, our focus is on providing the best possible holistic experience for education, personal growth, social development and mental wellbeing.
Frank Chapman
The Frank Chapman Centre is set in 90 acres of beautiful ancient oak forest, creating an adventurous setting for exploring and learning in the outdoors. The centre was purpose-built to provide high quality residential visits and in recent years has seen investment in a climbing wall, high ropes and a fabulous glamping village.
Ingestre Hall
Ingestre Hall is home to the UK's only dedicated residential arts centre. At Ingestre we deliver unique learning experiences through expressive and creative arts such as drama, visual art, music, dance, and animation. An Ingestre Arts residential is unlike any other, giving pupils the opportunity to explore a topic or stimulus, imagine, create, express themselves and realise their creative potential.