The Great British School Trip

Client: Hyundai

Hyundai wanted an experience that would elevate awareness of its Progress for Humanity vision with UK families. To deliver its mission, it supported school trips. Because of cost, Covid and over-stretched schools, two thirds of teachers said they were less likely to organise a trip than five years ago.

Yet experts believe learning outside the classroom has a lifelong effect on our social, emotional and personal development. Hyundai decided to step in to stop the decline. Through its Great British School Trip (GBST) campaign, it sent 29,000 young people from the UK’s most deprived schools on experiences of a lifetime - enjoying Disney theatre shows, experiencing flight simulators at RAF museums and climbing high ropes at PGL camps. To make experiences inclusive and open to everyone, it partnered with 442 venues, negotiated deals and funded travel bursaries. It took organisational burden off teachers with the GBST one-stop-shop website (www.greatbritishschooltrip.com) to plan and book experiences. There were added-value free lesson plans. To amplify Hyundai’s vision, GBST was backed by a national PR campaign with GBST’s Educator in Residence and former Apprentice winner, Tim Campbell MBE. Working with brand and social impact agency We Are Futures and creative brand comms agency Launch PR, GBST’s first year proved so popular that it reached 10% more young people than expected. 100% positive media coverage reached 30m people. Hyundai grew 8.3% year-on-year during 2023. And proving GBST really was an ‘experience for good’, 78% of teachers said it had a positive impact on student wellbeing.