FAQs
TEACHERS
We aim to take away between 12-18 students in a team, working on a minimum ratio of 1:8 adults to students. There will always be a qualified leader or local leader matched with your group and we will fully fund each school leader/adult place required on top of the leader/guide to meet this ratio. We believe teachers are such an integral part of the leadership team, we’ll often fund more places than required.
PARENTS
Schools choose to work with us because we won’t compromise on quality, safety, community initiatives or our leaders. We’re proud to invest in the best leaders, the most comprehensive safety and back up in the industry, meaningful partnerships with the communities the teams visit and a support team who are here for you and your child. We care about delivering the most meaningful experience we can and that is what sets us aside from an average trip.
That’s what we are here for. Our experienced Leaders are first aid trained and are backed by the support of our Operations Centre meaning they can speak to a doctor via a conference call for the best professional advice. Leaders carry comprehensive medical kits, including prescription medicine so a doctor can authorise them to use medication in the field. We have access to networks of screened medical facilities should it become necessary to visit one and in that case, we’ll proactively get in touch with you to keep you fully informed. Declare any pre-existing medical conditions and all the costs are covered.
We recognise that phones can be a useful tool for students whilst they’re travelling – from taking photos to keeping a diary, listening to music and researching places to go, there are many ways they can be utilised to add value to the experience.
Where school policy allows, students are permitted to bring their phones with them on their trip. Our Leaders will set clear boundaries with the team around appropriate usage – we want them to focus on the experience, not their devices!! They may decide only to use them for certain purposes, or at specified times of day, and they may not always have access to charging facilities or wifi.
We actively discourage direct contact with home, so please don’t expect to hear from your young person whilst they are away. There are many reasons for this, including staying present in the experience, reducing homesickness, and ensuring that important communications, go through our Operations Centre. In the past we’ve found that without full context, direct contact can cause unnecessary worry for parents, distress for students, and it can hinder the ability of the adult leaders to do their job effectively.
Our Leaders stay well connected to our Operations Centre whilst travelling and carry a range of communications equipment to ensure that this is possible even in more remote areas. If there is anything you need to be made aware of, rest assured, our Operations Centre will be in touch.
You’d need to chat to the school first, some schools are happy for students to travel with them when they are no longer at the school. Otherwise, it’s really important that you have a really good read of our refund policy in our Terms & Conditions during the sign up process. If you are at a school in the UK, it may be possible for you to transfer onto one of our trips for individuals – please check our website for details.
If you start to struggle, get in touch earlier rather than later so we can help get you back on track. It’s important that you have a really good read of our refund policy in our Terms & Conditions policy, available during sign up.
To fully understand all the measures we’ve put in place to protect our customers, please have a read of our Booking with Confidence page.
Students
To secure your place on the trip we ask you pay the first instalment by the application deadline. If your personal situation means this is not possible, then please apply anyway and drop our support team an email at support@myworldchallenge.com to let us know when you will be making the payment.
You don’t need to be an Olympian to do this however you do need to feel robust and healthy to take on the challenges of trip life; a different climate, maybe some physical trekking, carrying your backpack etc. Some regular fitness activity is encouraged but a lot of this is also about your attitude and willingness to take on the challenge.
Oh no! Put us in touch with a teacher you think might be interested and we can get working on your school to see if a trip would work for them.
From the date of your application, you have a 14-day cooling-off period to change your mind and receive a full refund. If you withdraw from the trip after this 14-day period, your cancellation would be handled in line with our Terms & Conditions (available on your World Challenge portal). Just as you would with a normal holiday, World Challenge recommends purchasing your own pre-departure cancellation insurance to cover you should you to decide to withdraw prior to departure. Signing up to a trip is an exciting decision but please make sure you are familiar with our terms before agreeing to them.
Once you’ve paid your first instalment, further payments should be made by direct debit, which you can set up when you apply. If you need to discuss a different payment method, please drop our support team an email at support@myworldchallenge.com.