DARE Days 

At Highlands trips and visits are a right, not a privilege. In 2021 we launched our DARE Days when, for four days each year, the curriculum is collapsed and all staff and students take part in carefully planned trips and activities - a total of twenty four days throughout each student’s seven years at Highlands. The days are designed to develop students’ character in accordance with the school’s DARE values, are tailored to the specific needs of each year group and are an opportunity to have fun. Whilst activities delivered in years 7 and 8 are designed to broaden the experiences of younger students and build students’ embodied cultural capital (year 7 students, for example, visit London Zoo), later activities are focussed upon age-related needs (year 11 engage in public speaking workshops and year 13 in sessions designed to enhance their UCAS application). Other trips include visits to a World War One trench experience, to Herts Young Mariners, to St Albans Cathedral and to Go Ape. 

The fact that all such opportunities are the right of every Highlands student ensures that there is no discrepancy between the participation rates of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students, or between SEND and non-SEND students. Everyone at Highlands particulates in our core trips programme. 

Other trips and activities 

Some trips fall outside our DARE Days, such as the school expedition to Morocco, taking place in July 2024. With these trips we encourage students of all backgrounds to participate, we offer bursaries and fundraising opportunities for students who require financial support and monitor participation on the trips so that all groups of students are represented.