What happens when young people step away from their screens, shoulder a rucksack and venture beyond their comfort zone? According to Peter Thacker, head of Bishopsgate School, quite a lot. In this week's View from the Top, he makes the case for school expeditions – and argues that challenge, responsibility and real-world adventure remain some of the most powerful teachers of all.
From the vantage point of headship, one truth is hard to ignore: many of the qualities we most want for young people are difficult to cultivate in comfort.
Confidence, resilience, judgement, self-control, kindness under pressure - these are not simply taught. They are practised, tested, and earned. That is why expeditions still matter. In a world where life can be highly managed, an expedition restores something real. The weather does not negotiate. The path does not adjust for your mood. A rucksack still has to be carried, a teammate still needs encouragement, and decisions still have consequences.
This conviction is shaped by my Army background, where expeditions are synonymous with leadership in its most practical form: preparation, self-discipline, calm thinking, and responsibility for others. In school, the same principles apply. A well-designed expedition develops the skillsets that sit beneath success in any field - teamwork, communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and the ability to keep going when it would be easier to stop.
At Bishopsgate, our programme is led by our Head of Expeditions and Adventure with a progressive, carefully planned approach. The best expeditions are not reckless, nor are they box-ticking. They are purposeful and properly safeguarded - giving pupils just enough stretch to grow, supported by staff whose quiet professionalism makes high challenge feel secure.
Our annual Year 8 expedition to Transylvania brings this to life. Remote, supported by satellite phones and meticulous planning, it places pupils in true wilderness - a region with Europe’s largest populations of wolves and bears. The point is not thrill-seeking; it is perspective: humility, awe, and the realisation that the world is bigger than their screens.
There is also a pleasing symmetry in the journey. Bishopsgate sits beside Windsor Great Park, on the edge of the Crown Estate. To travel from that starting point to the forests of Transylvania resonates with King Charles’ long-standing affinity for the region and its conservation, and aligned naturally with our Harmony curriculum. With the commitment of our staff and the trust of our parents, pupils return with something enduring: steadier nerve, kinder instinct, and the confidence of having done something hard, together, well.