As a successful school travel company, The STC are pleased to offer one of the widest ranges of adventures and expeditions of all the school travel companies out there. While we adapt each of our trips for groups of all sizes and backgrounds, one of our specialities is bringing a unique female perspective to our girls’ school adventures.
While we take care of all the arrangements for every trip we undertake, the girls’ school adventures let us create a very tailored and specific experience. While students get to understand the cultures, beliefs and traditions of their destination, they’ll also be able to learn about them first hand from a local woman’s perspective.
Cultural learning
Most of our expeditions, wherever they go, take students and their teachers way out of their comfort zone. Invariably, this is a positive and life-affirming (and sometimes life changing) experience for them.
We always make sure every adventure is packed with adrenalin-pumping activities that students might not have experienced before. And even if they have tried a spot of rafting, they probably won’t have done it through the rainforests of Costa Rica, or Borneo! And our girls’ school adventures are just the same.
The big difference, though, is that with these expeditions, we add an extra layer of cultural learning that will give your girls a greater awareness of non-western lifestyles. Throughout these adventures, we arrange a series of talks, insights and practical activities that highlight just some of the challenges and issues women face in the developing world. Students get to experience the highs, lows and realities that are unique to local women.
Urban and rural differences
So what do our girls’ school adventures include that you might not get from other school travel companies? They’re all about experiencing your destination country through the eyes of local women. And one of our more popular expeditions for this is a 20-day adventure through the mountains and rivers across Vietnam.
Arriving in eastern Asia is probably one of the biggest culture shocks our students experience. But the best way we’ve found to overcome this is to jump right in and start living and learning about the lifestyle straight away. And that usually starts with a traditional meal in a local home where you’ll begin to learn about the particular role women play in this fascinating country.
We love to include some of the highly anticipated excursions along the way, of course. But we also pepper each day with specific events that will give your students an appreciation of the female history and culture that surrounds them. So while you can take in the hustle and bustle of the street markets of Hanoi, you’ll then trek to a remote hillside village to meet with Thai minority women to learn about their way of life and join them in their everyday work and activities.
You’ll also experience other sights along the way like the historical temples of Ho Chi Minh, followed by a talk from local businesswomen. Though living and working in a major city, you’ll discover the big differences, as well as some of the similarities, between them and the lives of rural women.
Women’s roles in Fairtrade
Ghana is one of our top expedition destinations and takes in stunning African scenery, as well as campfires under the stars, treetop canopy walks, and drumming and dance workshops. But you’ll also get an amazing insight into the lives and work roles of women in this firendly sub-Saharan country. Though one of our trips that has a high culture shock value, it’s also one that provides a fuller understanding of global trade and the women who help make it possible.
Here, you’ll have the opportunity to visit Global Mama’s - a non-profit and Fairtrade company that helps women become financially independent. You’ll learn more about the women who benefit from the organisation and about what it takes to make the project a success.
And if you’re a fan of Fairtrade chocolate (who isn’t?) and other products, then a trip to the Kuapa Kokoo Cocoa Cooperative will give you a fresh insight into how the global chocolate trade works. Highlighting the improvements of working conditions, as well as encouraging women's role in business, you’ll have the chance to learn more about this inspiring organisation.
Days For Girls
Creating unforgettable adventures is what all school travel companies try to achieve. But, here at The STC, our girls’ school adventures really offer you something quite different. So, in addition to our unique itineraries, we partner with Days For Girls International. This inspiring, non-profit organisation allows our travel and tourism to benefit every community we visit through something that connects them all.
Days For Girls aims to give every woman and girl around the world lasting access to feminine hygiene through the distribution of kits and health education. And with their help and our own teams, The STC are able to include visits and activities on each of our girls’ trips that will make a real difference. This could be helping to put the kits together, distributing them in rural locations, or learning more about the Days For Girls organisation as well as helping out in one of their centres.
If you’re a participating school trip, you’ll take part in the Ambassador of Women’s Health Training before you leave. There you’ll learn more about the kits, as well as how to teach local women about the importance of feminine hygiene, anatomy, puberty, menopause and the kits themselves.
This is a great - and vital - way to educate and empower girls and women around the world. It’s also an opportunity for the girls on your trip to connect with them, and each other.
When you‘re looking for school travel companies for your next girls’ school expedition, contact us here at The STC. We can help you plan and organise amazing adventures that take in once in a lifetime events and activities, as well as cultural and historical education from a woman's perspective.
To find out more about our girls’ school adventures and the Days For Girls initiative, get in touch with us today.