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*** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ***
Due to extremely low delegate numbers, we have had to cancel the Stretching Horizons Educational Travel Conference.
We are very sorry that we are unable to offer the exciting conference experience we had planned. We are currently seeking professional advice as to how Stretching Horizons as a company can move forward.
We are delighted to have secured one of UK’s leading science and discovery centres, At-Bristol, as our venue. At-Bristol is where exploration and education go hand in hand for an unforgettable, fun day out, and delegates will have free access to all the exhibits as part of the delegate fee.
Click here for directions and travel details to At-Bristol
A high profile team of speakers has already been confirmed for the conference covering a wide variety of specialities and areas – from industry experts to inspired teachers that push the boundaries of educational travel. Speakers currently confirmed include:
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A teaching graduate from Oxford University, Alastair spent over 4 years cycling round the world, a journey of 46,000 miles through 60 countries and 5 continents. More recently Alastair has walked across southern India, rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, run 6 marathons through the Sahara desert and participated in an expedition in the Arctic, close to the magnetic North Pole. Alastair has also rowed to France with Major Phil Packer, a soldier paralysed in Iraq and in 2010 he completed an unsupported crossing of Iceland by foot and packraft. In 2011 Alastair decided to remain in the UK in order to encourage people to seek out adventure and wilderness closer to home, challenging themselve through microadventures. He is currently training for a return journey to the South Pole. This year he was chosen as one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year.
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Julian has over 15 years experience of managing risk in a variety of environments around the world, firstly as a Commissioned Officer in the British Army and latterly as a Director within one of the worlds largest travel companies. Julian's experience ranges from training soldiers in Sierra Leonne, leading students and school children on overseas expeditions to being responsible for the safety management and incident support systems of one of the UK's leading education travel businesses, World Challenge. Julian holds national health and safety qualifications, is a qualified Mountain Leader, is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and is a Trustee of the Institute of Outdoor Learning.
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Jamie is the founder of Digital Explorer and an educator and expedition leader. Interested in how exploration could inspire young people to make a difference, Jamie trained to be a teacher and taught for five years. He was part of the government’s Fast Track Teacher programme after receiving his PGCE and was appointed Head of Citizenship at Eastbury Comprehensive, before leading on multimedia approaches to learning at London’s largest comprehensive, Crown Woods School.
Through Digital Explorer, he has led and taken part in interactive education expeditions in the Arctic, Antarctic, Alps, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan and the UAE. Jamie is also a Council Member of the Royal Geographical Society and sits on its Education Committee.
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Over a diverse career which has spanned from the Special Air Service to television presenting, Ken unites his experience under the common theme of unlocking potential and he is passionate about empowering people to transform their lives for the better. Ken has created and fronted adventure programmes for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Five, CBBC, Sky and the Discovery Channel. His first TV show was The Trek, back in 1994. With the help of Princess Diana, he took 12 disadvantaged youngsters to the heart of Africa on a 500-mile journey over desert and mountainous terrain. Ken’s series Beyond Boundaries has become his most famous achievement and the programmes have spanned over three series to date. Each one has seen Ken lead various groups of people with disability through some of the world’s most challenging wildernesses, on seemingly impossible expeditions.
Ken now uses his vast and diverse experience to inspire vision in others through motivational speaking, coaching and leadership training. He is an accomplished Mountain Guide and skier and represented Great Britain in cross country skiing. He played rugby for the Combined Services, is an expert in the great outdoors in all survival disciplines and is a keen amateur opera singer.
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Shane Winser is responsible for expeditions and fieldwork at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). She heads Geography Outdoors which includes safety training for, among others, teachers and youth leaders involved with educational visits and fieldwork both in the UK and abroad. Over 1,250 teachers and youth leaders have been through these courses in the past three years which include the nationally recognised Certificate in Off-Site Safety Management, training for Educational Visits Co-ordinators in Independent and Foundation Schools.
Shane has sat on a number of national committees concerned with benchmarking good practice including the BSI technical panel for BS 8848: 2007 the new specification for the provision of visits, fieldwork, expeditions and adventurous activities outside the United Kingdom, English Outdoor Council, the Year Out Group, and the Young Explorers' Trust.
Mark is a Chartered Manager with an MSc in sustainability and a first degree in geography and international development. He was the campaigns director of the human rights charity Stonewall and the Executive Director of One Planet Products before founding the charity UK Foundation for AIDS Research in 2009. In 1986 he spent three months in Dhaka, Bangladesh studying the effects of poverty on social exclusion; then in 1991 he led a six month expedition to the Amazon to consider the social and environmental consequences of rainforest destruction. Before going to university he spent one year working voluntarily in the township of Alexandria in South Africa and in 2003 he climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money for HIV / AIDS projects in Africa.
FRGS, expeditioner, partner and solicitor advocate (all Higher Courts) within the travel and leisure team at Hill Dickinson. Matthew acts for clients involved in the school trips and outdoor sectors including leading outdoor activity and expedition companies. In previous years he has also provided legal advice to individual expeditioners and expedition groups at the Royal Geographical Society and is recognised by Chambers & Partners legal directory as a leader in this field. He has acted in some of the highest profile cases relating to school trips and trips involving teachers, including Coroners inquests, Civil Claims and defending teachers before their Governing Bodies. Matthew was a member of the drafting team for BS:8848. He has also trained lawyers from other firms in relation to legal issues relating to school trips and is an expert speaker for Central Law Training. Matthew is also an instructor for the Off Site Safety Management course relating to school trip safety, as well as sitting as a Deputy District Judge.
James has now worked for 22 years in the travel industry, starting as a ski resort rep immediately after University. Having enjoyed the experience so much, he decided not to take an Economics degree from Bristol University to the city, but to pursue a career in the travel industry. He joined the tour operator The Newmarket Group in 1983 as an operations executive and has been there ever since, working in product development and sales, before launching the company’s schools educational travel division Study Experiences in 1997. The success of this division, led James launching Sport Experiences, their schools sports tours division in 2005. In 2012 over 40,000 UK school and college students will travel with Study and Sport Experiences, including over 10,000 to see the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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Claire's career spans 25 years, during which time she has worked in both informal and formal education and in a wide range of sectors. With a particular passion for the outdoors and the huge benefits she
believes it brings, Claire has taken a very positive approach to encouraging children and young people to access outdoor learning through school and in particular through the expedition section of the DofE programme. Claire has extensive knowledge and expertise in advising DofE leaders and participants on how to plan, prepare and execute an expedition in either the UK or overseas, ensuring that the appropriate criteria is met and that the venture is an enjoyable and memorable experience for all involved. Fun features high on Claire's list of priorities! Claire has recently completed her MA in Outdoor Learning, her dissertation focussed on experiential learning in the outdoors for young people with a visual impairment.
Paul Miller is a Teacher Governor at Ashton Park School, Bristol. He moved into education following 14 years working in research engineering at Rolls Royce. At Ashton Park, Paul is responsible for a wide range of school activities including Work Experience, Link Courses, PSHE and Citizenship. Paul has travelled extensively for most of his working life. He has taken students on expeditions across the globe including India’s Zanskar valley, Morocco, the rain forests of Central America and, more recently, to Kenya, building a school for 800 pupils and walking with the Masai. In 2003 Paul created a link between Ashton Park School and Inspirations School, Kenya. Since entering education Paul has taken over 200 students on Expeditions. This work has lead to Ashton Park being an integral part of the Bristol-Kenya link for the 2012 Olympic Games, building a sustainable link for the future as part of the Olympic legacy strategy.
A graduate of Loughborough University, Rick has been teaching for 33 years, the last 23 of which have been at Bristol Grammar School. Throughout his career he has been a passionate advocate of the educational value of group travel in the form of sport tours: he considers that these experiences offer a unique opportunity for students to not only compete against those from another culture, but to benefit from working together to achieve an ultimate goal, to develop a team bond and create those relationships which will last a lifetime. He has led innumerable school trips to destinations throughout the U.K and Europe but admits that it is the experience of touring in distant parts that have provided many of the highlights of his professional life. He organised and led his first major tour to Canada in 1980, and has since then taken his students, in chronological order, to Eastern Seaboard, USA, Trans Canada, Calgary- Jasper -Banff and British Colombia, Zimbabwe, South Africa , Australia- Tonga-Samoa, Cook Islands- New Zealand- Fiji, Argentina- Chile and most recently a return to South Africa in 2011. He has experienced over this period of time the shift in not only the expectations of students, parents, school management and governors, but also the advent of stringent organisational protocol and risk assessment.
Karen is a teacher of Art and Design at The Wey Valley School and Sports College, Weymouth www.weyvalley.dorset.sch.uk The school has a strong belief in the benefits to young people of being involved in outdoor education and the Duke of Edinburgh award with which Karen has been involved with over a number of years. Through her experiences in travelling widely and teaching for 25 yrs, including an exchange period in Australia, Karen is passionate about developing leadership qualities and the spirit of adventure in young people. She is a committee member of Dorset Expeditionary Society www.dorsetexpe.org.uk and has assisted with leading young people not only trekking the Wonderland Trail and climbing Mt. Ranier, N. America but also canoeing the Bowron lakes, Canada. This expedition then led her to develop links through the Okhle Village Trust www.okhle.org.uk with Bayapani Secondary School , Okhle, Nepal. On this expedition she led students trekking the Poon Hill Trail and working within the village community of Okhle.
The Wey Valley School and Sports College is keen to build upon the connections and friendships made with Okhle and Karen is very much looking forward to re-visiting with her colleagues and leaders Jenny Boyce and Clive Burgess, by taking a team of students back there in 2013.
Jenny is a Higher Level Teaching Assistant, specialising in sport and Outdoor Education, at The Wey Valley School and Sports College, Weymouth.
She is also a Supervisor and Assessor for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Jenny has assisted with two Expeditions to Nepal, 2009, 2011 and in 2013 returning to Nepal with another group of students from the School. She is responsible for the welfare of the group and any medical issues that may occur on the expedition. Jenny is in the process of training for an expedition to Canada in July/August 2012.She will be trekking the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail on Vancouver Island, then going on to canoe The Bowron Lakes.
James' back ground as a Senior Nurse in Emergency Departments both in the UK and abroad and as a qualified mountain leader has led him into a very practical travel and expedition domain. He has provided medical cover and leadership for numerous expeditions across the globe, including for Ben Fogle and Joanna Lumley. He has Diplomas in Travel Medicine, Tropical Nursing, a degree in Emergency Care and is a Member of the Faculty of Travel Medicine. He is a contributing author to the Oxford Handbook of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine and co-author of ‘Expedition Medicine’ a new chapter in Paul Auerbach’s definitive textbook ‘Wilderness Medicine’. James is Deputy Secretary of the British Travel Health Association and runs his own travel health and consultancy clinic Travel Health Consultancy. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and in January 2012 was invited to join the Royal Geographical Society Medical Cell.
Through his work at The Specialist Travel Consultancy, Adrian has advised on and planned more than 100 school adventures and expeditions beyond Europe – from combined geography and religious studies trips in the Middle East, to major expeditions in the jungles of Venezuela. He has travelled to over 55 countries - his first major expedition being a six month epic through Africa at the age of 19 - crossing the Sahara and Congo's 'Heart of Darkness'. Extensive explorations in South America, as well as various trips to Nepal, Finland, South Africa, Morocco, Turkey and elsewhere, ensure an encyclopaedic knowledge of the world's travel destinations and how they can be applied to educational travel. He has trekked in the Andes, Alps, Himalayas, Turkey and New Zealand. Adrian is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and on the committee for the South West RGS region with the remit for Youth Development. He is also a Geography Ambassador and a passionate campaigner for responsible tourism.
Nick is a leading International Ski and Mountain Guide who has been guiding parties’ since 1985 in mountain ranges across the globe. As a highly experienced Mountaineer and Adventurer, Nick has become a highly sought after Guide and Expedition Coordinator. More recently, Nick has become a safety consultant to the adventure film and television Industry and an expert witness for the adventure sports industry. A keen photographer and writer, he contributes regularly to outdoor magazines and professional publications.
The conference includes lectures from industry experts alongside sessions from inspired teachers who lead the way in educational travel. There are whole conference sessions on the latest updates in standards & safety, legal responsibilities of teachers on overseas trips, crisis management planning for schools, responsible tourism, sharing good practice and other key areas. These are complimented with break-out sessions covering specifics on arranging:
Within these areas, delegates can choose their conference programme to focus on their area of interest.
For Friday 12th October Programme - Click here
All sessions are CPD certified.
Unique to the Stretching Horizons Conference, will be our 'Speed Date a Tour Operator' session.
This promises to be highly entertaining, if not a little chaotic!
Exhibiting travel companies from the main areas of educational travel will each have two minutes to show their value and capture your eye. Time keeping will be strictly enforced!
The traditional post-lunch snooze session will never be the same again!
Registration Fees | 12 Oct 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird booking (up to 01July 2012) |
£140 (+VAT) |
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| Daily rate (after 01 July) |
£175 (+VAT) |
* For discounted rate, please ensure you enter the discount code on the booking form.
Rate includes: all sessions, refreshments, a working lunch, and the opportunity to explore the exhibits of the At-Bristol science centre and 10% discounted parking.
BOOK NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT: Delegate places are strictly limited to 200, so early booking is essential to secure your place and get your first choice of seminars.
If you need to stay overnight, there are many hotels close to the Conference and Exhibition venue offering good rates. To book accommodation go to http://visitbristol.co.uk/accommodation to view your choices and find out what’s available.
For any queries about booking, please email contact@stretchinghorizons.co.uk or telephone 01392 421020.
40 exhibitors including tour operators, kit specialist, travel health advisors, crisis management specialists, insurance companies and tourist boards will be attending the conference. The exhibition is an integral part of the event and all refreshments including lunch will be served in the exhibition area, allowing plenty of time to network and make new contacts.
Exhibiting at the Educational Travel Conference gives you direct access to hundreds of delegates with a specific interest or role in arranging overseas educational travel. Delegates will include secondary teachers, Educational Visits Co-ordinators and other staff from all sectors of education.
A range of sponsorship and advertising options are also available to give organisations additional opportunities to promote products and services to Conference delegates.
Click here for Exhibition and Sponsorship Booking Information.
For Exhibitors who have already booked, click here for the Exhibitors Handbook.
Based near New Dehli, well established and highly rated, Mountain Adventures India offer an extensive range of tours in the Himilayas and across the Indian Subcontinent to all interested parties. Local knowledge and second-to-none in depth experience of the area ensures they provide adventures and trips with that extra geniune local ingrediant. Supporting the Educational Travel Conference, Mountain Adventures are looking forward to sharing their work and expertise with all Conference attendees. Click here for more information .
Website: Mountain Adventures India
World Challenge Expeditions (WCE) are the original and leading school expeditions company. Founded in 1987, WCE offer an unrivalled range of overseas educational experiences to school groups from across the world. This helps to transform the lives of over 8,000 students annually. WCE delivers education through exploration, ensuring that students manage their own expeditions.
The World Challenge Programme is often described as "the most powerful team building experience a young person can take part in, developing valuable life skills such as leadership, communication, risk management and money management. It's not just an amazing experience in another country with rewarding community projects, but a whole developmental journey that starts long before students step on a plane".
Telephone: 01494 427600
Website: World Challenge
Endsleigh Insurance was formed in 1965 by the National Union of Students, when students were experiencing difficulties obtaining sound and competitive insurance cover. We are now widely recognised as the UK’s leading insurer for the student and youth market. With over 45 years experience as a leading provider, we partner with in excess of 350 partners throughout the UK. The relationships that we build enable our partners to provide a travel insurance service which generates valuable protection to your travellers, whilst creating an additional revenue stream. This industry experience means we have the flexibility to integrate into a variety of business models with minimum administration.
Endsleigh’s innovative and flexible travel insurance portfolio offers competitive premiums whilst ensuring a high level of service to your Travellers. Our range of insurance products will cover the majority of trips and activities organised by Education and Adventure Travel providers. For those more obscure activities Endsleigh can design a bespoke policy to suit the tours and trips you provide.
Telephone: 01242 866616
Website: Endsleigh Insurance
Worldwide Experience strives to conserve what man is fast destroying – our very own environment and ultimately our own planet. We are the specialists when it comes to wildlife conservation and offer scholars, students and the older generation the opportunity to work on some of the most incredible projects we are closely aligned with. We also work closely together with the disadvantaged communities within the immediate location of each of the conservation projects. All of our projects have been formulated with the assistance of the Worldwide Experience team, to give our self-funding volunteers the most meaningful of experiences…..
Telephone: +44 (0)1483 860560
Website: Worldwide Experience
At Outlook we see ourselves as a little bit different. Guided by quality and conscience we want the schools and youth groups we work with to choose an adventure to suit them. Since 2001 we have been sending teams all over the world on Tailor-Made expeditions, from the Himalaya to the Sahara, from the coral reefs of the Red sea to the Amazon. We want the young people we work with to see the world, experience all it has to offer and expand horizons. Outlook is one of the UK’s most respected youth expedition companies and our team is committed to support, guide and inspire.
Telephone: 0845 900 2989
Website: Outlook Expeditions
Inspire Worldwide is a social enterprise which specialises in designing and running tailor-made community projects. We link school groups from the UK with overseas charity partners, providing the opportunity to support and take part in hands-on, sustainable community development projects. Our aim is to create on-going and sustainable links between school groups from the UK and our charities in sub-Sahara Africa and India, creating a truly positive impact on both the people who take part in the projects and the communities we work with overseas.
We also use our expertise to provide Trip Management and Logistical support for schools who already have a charity partner or link school and who would like to run a trip to visit them.
Telephone: 01273 249 543
Website: Inspire Worldwide
“Sawubona!” Traverse Line is an independent tour operator specialising is bespoke treks and safaris across Southern Africa, Kenya and Nepal, and have been doing this successfully and enthusiastically since 2005 for a wide range of clients, ranging from small private parties to Army Cadet Groups and Schools. We are Drakensberg Mountains’ experts, and this region is a fantastic destination for secondary level school groups seeking multi-day wilderness expeditions, not to mention the riveting Zulu War Battlefields (“uSuthu! uSuthu!” … Chilling!!) and Big-5 Game Reserves located nearby. We also run adventurous expeditions suitable for schools to the Western Cape Mountains and Namibia.
Telephone: 01285 650906
Website: Traverse Line
Rayburn Tours has been operating tailor-made tours for schools since 1965. Today, we organise tours for a range of subjects including Geography, History, Business Studies and Modern Foreign Languages. Working alongside a dedicated Tour Consultant, your tour will be designed to complement your curriculum and completely tailor-made to meet your requirements. Rayburn Tours are proud to be a founding member of the School Travel Forum, a member of the STF Committee and a holder of the LOtC Quality Badge. In addition, we offer you financial security in the forms of ABTA and ATOL. Come and meet us for advice on taking your students outside the classroom.
Telephone: 01882 347828
Website: Rayburn Tours
The Young Explorers’ Trust (YET) is an independent, national, educational charity seeking to promote safe and responsible expeditions. It aims to assist those making provision for young people to take a part in exploration, discovery and challenging adventure, to help foster the personal qualities of service, self-sufficiency and leadership. YET offers a range of services for expeditioners and explorers including a regular Forum debating current issues and an Evaluation Service for providers seeking conformity to BS8848.
Telephone: 01623 861027
Website: The Young Explorers Trust
Travel Health Consultancy is an established Travel Health specialist, providing tailor-made advice, vaccinations and support to anyone travelling abroad. Travel and adventure is only one part of your journey. Coming home to tell the story is just as important.
Telephone: 01392 430590
Website: Travel Health Consultancy
and Supporting Sponsor
Discover the World is one of the UK’s leading specialist tour operators organising field trips to Iceland, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Spain, Greece, Costa Rica, China, USA, Jordan, Dubai, Oman, Antarctica and New Zealand. Come along and collect your FREE SILVER GA AWARD WINNING ONLINE TEACHING RESOURCE based on the EYJAFJALLAJOKULL eruption in 2010.
Telephone: 01737 214214
Website: Discover the World
Tailored educational tours with a twist of adventure. The Adventure Company have 16 years experience of arranging adventure travel and treks to all corners of the world.
Telephone: 01420 595025
Website: The Adventure Company
Wind Sand & Stars are specialists offering historical, cultural and spiritual adventures to remote desert places. Our journeys are tailored to provide a unique and powerful educational experience for school groups of all ages. We have been the pre-eminent operator in the Sinai Desert for over 20 years, with new journeys to Ethiopia available from 2013.
Telephone: 01225 320 839
Website: Wind, Sand and Stars
Camps International are global leaders in responsible school travel and offer fully-supported school expeditions and curriculum based field trips to Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our programmes run from 5 days to 4 weeks throughout the year, offering premium experiences for UK schools. Our educational school trips offer an opportunity of a lifetime for students and teachers and the chance to make a profound and lasting impact on disadvantaged communities and wildlife without compromising safety and security. Adventurous activities are incorporated into itineraries and include mountain treks, safari, river journeys, scuba diving and jungle trekking.
Telephone: 0844 800 1127
Website: Camps International
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Wilderness Expertise offers students the opportunity to take part in overseas, personal development expeditions to a range of exciting destinations. With full support of highly skilled Leaders, students plan, develop and run their expedition, developing transferable skills essential for Further Education or employment.
Telephone: Georgia +44 (0)1256 886543
Website: Wilderness Expertise
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Schools Worldwide tailor-make overseas adventure trips for secondary schools, colleges and youth groups to provide young people with unforgettable, life-changing experiences.
Telephone: 0845 634 4670
Website: Schools Worldwide
Independent travel agency specialising in school and college adventures and expeditions. The STC acts as agents for over 35 UK operators, offering free impartial advice to teachers, helping them select destinations, plan itineraries and choose the most appropriate operators.
Telephone: 01392 660056
Website: The Specialist Travel Consultancy
Guided mountain adventures. Mountain Tracks provide back-country ski and avalanche awareness courses, ski-touring and mountaineering expeditions for school and college groups.
Telephone: 020 8123 2978
Website: Mountain Tracks
We are currently in talks with a variety of exciting sponsors. Watch this space and we'll keep you up to date on developments.
Are YOU interested in sponsoring our conference or another aspect of Stretching Horizons? We have a range of options available and we be pleased to work with you to ensure your sponsorship creates maximum benefit.
We're delighted to announce Mountain Adventures India as our Main Event Sponsor and extend our sincerest thanks for their vote of confidence and generous support.
Based near New Dehli, well established and highly rated, Mountain Adventures India offer an extensive range of tours in the Himalayas and across the Indian Subcontinent to all interested parties. Local knowledge and second-to-none in depth experience of the area ensures they provide adventures and trips with that extra geniune local ingredient. Supporting the Educational Travel Conference, Mountain Adventures are looking forward to sharing their work and expertise with all Conference attendees. Click here for more information ......
A big thank you to Berghaus for supporting our Conference. For over 45 years Berghaus has been helping people explore the outdoors and experience new adventures through stylish and technically innovative products. We inspire people to get outdoors, escape the daily routine and explore the world in which we live.
Our clothing, equipment and footwear are built to excel through rigorous in house development and testing by our team of elite athletes and outdoor professionals. So whether you’re walking, running, biking, climbing, skiing or hiking you can be sure that you’ll be protected from whatever weather you may encounter.
Berghaus. Live for Adventure.
We warmly welcome Discover the World on board as a supporting sponsor of the Educational Travel Conference 2012. Discover the World is one of the UK’s leading educational, specialist tour operators organising field trips to Iceland, Italy, Morocco, Norway, Spain, Greece, Costa Rica, China, USA, Jordan, Dubai, Oman, Antarctica and New Zealand. With 27 years experience organising educational study visits, their expertise ensure trips are memorable and have true educational impact. Win a trip to Iceland! For conference delegates only, visit Discover the World's exhibition stand and enter the competition.