School Music Trips & Tours
There’s no substitute for being there and that’s why we’ve been helping to create concert tours which enhance performance skills, build confidence and develop a sense of independence for more than 20 years.
Your students will be immersed in music and have the opportunity to perform at some of the most inspiring venues in the world. We provide tours for music students and school bands to a wide range of destinations in the UK, Europe and worldwide.
We’ll match wonderful concert venues around the world to your pupils’ abilities and expectations. Whether you want your performances to be formal, informal, or a mixture of both.
From memorable performances in world-renowned prestigious venues including St Mark’s Basilica Venice, St Stephen’s Cathedral Vienna and St Peter’s Basilica Vatican City, to performing to the stunning backdrop of Lake Titisee in the Black Forest, the picturesque coastal towns of the Catalonian coast or on stage at Disneyland®Paris, where students can gain a glimpse into Disney’s world of entertainment, as the school music tour experts we can advise and organise everything you need.
Learn more about our music tour destinations
Amsterdam & the Dutch Coast
Amsterdam & the Dutch Coast
Ideally positioned for the many coastal venues as well as a visit to Amsterdam.
Learn more about our music tours to Amsterdam & the Dutch Coast here
Barcelona & Catalonia Coast
Barcelona & Catalonia Coast
Barcelona has a multitude of fantastic museums and galleries, while its historic past provides a wealth of cathedrals and memorable performance venues.
Learn more about our music tours to Barcelona & Catalonia here
Belgium
Belgium
Perfect for groups on their first tour or those with a tight budget.
Black Forest
Black Forest
With its beautiful lakes and stunning panoramic views, the Black Forest offers many opportunities for music groups.
Budapest
Budapest
The beautiful city of Budapest offers music groups the opportunity to trace the steps of famous names such as Liszt, Bartok and Kodaly during a concert tour here.
Krakow
Krakow
With a wonderful cultural heritage Krakow has a fabulous range of formal venues.
Lake Garda
Lake Garda
The beautiful backdrop to Lake Garda presents the perfect place to enjoy a performance tour.
Madrid
Madrid
This historic, exciting city and its surrounding communities have an ideal combination of venues that attract enthusiastic audiences and cultural attractions for groups to explore.
New York
New York
Manhattan is a fast-paced, exciting metropolis offering music groups a wide range of performance venues and eclectic musical tastes, making it the ideal destination for groups of all abilities and genres.
Opal Coast, Northern France
Opal Coast, Northern France
Combined with an array of memorable visits, a music tour to Northern France offers groups the opportunity to bond and fully concentrate on their rehearsals and performance.
Paris
Paris
This world-famous city has an abundance of performance venues, ranging from the mighty Église Madeleine church to the Disney Performing Arts Programme at Disneyland® Paris, making Paris the perfect choice for established, intermediate or newly-formed groups.
Prague
Prague
A concert tour to the beautiful city of Prague, with its marvellous cultural tradition, offers music groups the opportunity to perform in wonderful venues and settings.
Rhine & Moselle
Rhine & Moselle
NST offers an excellent choice of accommodation serving the needs of music groups and our tailor-made itineraries will add real value to your concert tour experience.
Learn more about our music tours to the Rhine & Moselle here
Rome
Rome
A music concert tour to Rome offers groups the opportunity to perform at unique world-class venues.
Salzburg
Salzburg
A perfect destination for groups of all abilities.
Tuscany
Tuscany
Florence, Pisa, Siena and Lucca all within easy reach and offering excellent and varied concert venues and performance opportunities.
Venice & Lido di Jesolo
Venice & Lido di Jesolo
Audiences are warm and enthusiastic and there are a variety of sightseeing opportunities.
Vienna
Vienna
Vienna hosts some of the most prestigious venues in Europe, and is ideal for more formal groups.
Our most popular school music tour destinations...
Our most popular school music tour destinations...
New York
The city that never sleeps! Manhattan is a fast-paced, exciting metropolis offering music groups of all types and abilities a wide range of performance venues. To create a truly memorable experience for your group, NST will arrange an itinerary that also includes many of the attractions that this amazing city has to offer, at the very best group prices.
New York is a popular year-round destination for choirs, for bands, April to October tends to be most popular.
Paris
The renowned ‘city of light’ is guaranteed to add sparkle to any school band tour. Paris has an abundance of performance venues, ranging from the mighty Église Madeline to the Disney Performing Arts Programme at Disneyland®Paris, making Paris the perfect choice for a variety of groups. It’s also ideal for a combined music, art and French language tour, with plenty to see and do.
London
The wide number and variety of performance venues available in London make it an ideal destination for groups of all ages and abilities. These outstanding venues, along with the great range of amazing West End theatre shows, workshops, backstage tours and leisure visits, mean NST can provide a great value itinerary that engages, wows and inspires.
London is a popular year-round destination and when your group is not performing, the city is best explored on foot or underground, NST can book underground tickets for your group in advance of your departure, we can also book West End theatre tickets in advance for your group in order to secure the best availability and prices too. If you are on a budget then London offers plenty of free, fun and educational museum visits which often include workshops.
On-tour support from music specialists
From teacher feedback we know that on-tour support is important to you.
In many destinations we offer Concert Assistants and Tour Assistants to give you all the support you need on the ground whilst you’re away.
In addition, we can offer support from a Tour Manager who will assist you throughout the duration of your tour, including at your concerts where they will be on-hand to provide extra support.
Planning your first school trip?
If you're planning your first music school tour, our essential guide will take you through each step of the process...
- Choosing your destination
- Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head
- Promoting your tour in school
- Confirming your booking
- Tailor-make your tour
- Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment)
- Quick reference timeline
- Pre-tour checklist
Additional support, resources & information
Concert organisation & tour planning service
Concert organisation & tour planning service
With NST, you’ll get your own dedicated music team who’ll work with you from start to finish. You’ll benefit from their unrivalled destination knowledge, and their experience gained from spending every day organising concerts for school groups.
They’ll tailor-make your itinerary from scratch and take care of everything for you:
- Matching the most appropriate concert venus to suit your group's ability
- Pulling together a performance schedule and itinerary that runs smoothly
- Planning the right balance of concerts and visits every day with realistic timings
- Pre-arranging and pre-booking your visits, entrance tickets, passes and meals
You’ll receive your final itinerary a full 4-weeks before you travel too.
Promoting your concerts
Promoting your concerts
We’ll go the extra mile in promoting your concerts for you too. We’ll:
- Select venues that regularly attract good audiences, and we’ll schedule your concerts at the best times to maximise audience potential.
- Locate A-board posters outside your venue, distribute promotional posters and leaflets ahead of your performances, plus promote your concerts in the local press, ‘what’s on’ guides, social media, and on radio where possible.
- Invite local youth and cultural groups to your concert (where appropriate) and, where possible, we’ll organise joint concerts and festival participations to attract the largest possible audiences.
FREE music tour promotion pack
FREE music tour promotion pack
We’ll support you and provide everything you need to advertise your music tour around school and to parents. Our free promotion pack consists of:
- Parents’ letter & permission slip template for you to complete
- A3 posters to promote your trip around school
- PowerPoint presentation templates which you can tailor to your own needs
Risk assessment support including preview visits
Risk assessment support including preview visit
Risk assessment plays a vitally important part in the planning and organisation on any school tour.
Our risk assessment guide aims to help you understand more about your obligations and how you can more effectively manage group safety on your next educational visit and provide you with risk assessments for your trip.
Planning first school trip
Planning first school trip
Organising your first school trip can appear to be a daunting process.
If you're planning your first school trip, our guide will help to take you through each step of the planning process, answering frequently asked questions and providing tips and support along the way.
Our helpful guide covers the following:
- Choosing your destination
- Gaining approval from your Local Authority and/or your Head
- Promoting your tour in school
- Confirming your booking
- Tailor-make your tour
- Completing your risk assessments (including a sample risk assessment)
- Quick reference timeline
- Pre-tour checklist
Get live updates on your group's tour location
Get live updates on your group's tour location
Locate My Trip uses GPS technology and is the easy, convenient way for your school to follow your location whilst on tour. Specifically designed to provide reassurance to both parents and teachers, NST will know where your group are 24/7. If your schedule needs to change, we’ll put plans in place to keep your tour on track.
With Locate My Trip your group can also share photos and videos with the school and parents, via a secure link, to keep them updated on your experience whilst you’re away.
Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager
Your online school trip organiser - My Tour Manager
Save time and stay on track with your school trip admin with our online orgnaniser - designed to help busy teachers like you.
With My Tour Manager, you'll be able to download FREE resources and access trip paperwork online and in one place. Your personalised checklist details what you need to do and by when, plus you'll receive fortnightly reminders too.
What's more, you can take all your trip documents on the go whilst on your tour with our app, My Tour Manager-On-the-Go.
Find out more and watch out short My Tour Manager video here
Free classroom resources
Free classroom resources
We've created a range of free geography resources and educational posters to brighten up your classroom!
Take a look at our downloadable posters here
Your dedicated music team
You’ll have the support of your own Music Tour Specialist. Our team; Sheena, Samantha, Ria, Laura, Andrea & Jen all have a fantastic knowledge of our destinations, having visited many first-hand. They'll piece together a travel package of accommodation, transport, visits and leisure activities around your performance schedule to ensure that you get the right balance of concerts and visits.
Your concert organiser, John, will match the most appropriate options to suit your group's ability and requirements. John is a classically trained instrumentalist and gigging musician.
Why choose NST...
Here's why hundreds of teachers choose NST each year...
- Dedicated music tour team
With fantastic first-hand knowledge of our destinations and concert venues, our music team will match the most appropriate options to suit your group's ability and requirements.
- On-tour support
We offer Concert Assistants, Tour Assistants and Tour Managers to give you all the support you need on the ground whilst you’re away.
- Promoting your concerts
We’ll go the extra mile in promoting your concerts for you, selecting venues that regularly attract good audiences and advertising your concerts in the local area.
- Making it easier for you
With our online school trip organiser, travel app, free classroom posters to support in-school promotion.
- Risk assessment guidance
Our risk assessment guidance will help you to manage group safety on your next educational trip.
- FREE group leader inspection visits
We offer a free inspection visit to your chosen destination to support your risk assessment planning.
- Value for money
We’re committed to bringing you the best possible value trips to help make every penny count.
- Peace of mind
Your group’s location can be followed with our trip tracking device - Locate My Trip - plus you’ll have 24/7 support from us whilst you’re away.
- More than 20 years’ experience
With over 20 years’ experience, with NST you can rest assured that your group is in safe hands.
- Offsetting carbon emissions
For every trip taken, we'll plant a Maya nut tree in Peru to support reforestation, local communities & biodiversity. Plus, we'll offset an additional tonne of CO2 to guarantee carbon emission reductions.
Looking for protection on your next school trip?
Booking with a school travel company is the best way for you to protect parents’ money and give yourself peace of mind.
Financial protection from the moment you book
NST are fully bonded & licensed:
- ABTA
- ATOL
- IATA
- Commission for Aviation Regulation
Managing safety on school trips
For your protection, NST's independently audited Safety Management System covers:
- 24-hour emergency cover
- Audited accommodation & transport
- Excursions & school visit assessment
- Group leader preview visits to assist with risk assessment planning
Package Travel Regulations 2018
Don't forget - if your school arranges transport, accommodation and other services directly, you’ll be liable under the Package Travel Regulations – meaning you’ll have all the responsibilities of a travel company, both legal and financial.
We're LOtC Council’s Quality Badge assured
For groups travelling from Northern Ireland... the Department for Education advises schools to always look for the LOtC Quality Badge when choosing a school travel provider.
