In today’s education landscape, schools are increasingly asking an important question: How do we prepare students not just for exams, but for life? The answer lies in experiences that take learning beyond classrooms and into real communities with  challenges and responsibility. Student impact trips, especially those that combine curriculum learning, service and cultural immersion are uniquely positioned to meet that need.

At GHE, student trips are designed as curriculum based and community led service learning journeys that help students grow into global citizens committed to a sustainable future.

Understanding the details of the trek to reach the remote Himalayan village

Learning Beyond Classrooms

Learning takes on deeper meaning when it moves beyond textbooks and into real places and lived experiences. Trekking through ancient Himalayan trails, sharing meals with local families and spending quiet moments under vast starlit skies allow students to engage with learning in a fully embodied way. Concepts like resilience, generosity and community are no longer abstract ideas, they are felt, witnessed and understood through everyday interactions. Students don’t just absorb information; they form connections, develop compassion and begin to see the world through a more empathetic lens.

Reflecting on this, Barry Dequanne, Director of the International School of Zug and Luzern, shares:

“In the classroom we can study these histories but there is no substitute for being there. What begins as awareness becomes empathy.”

Students after installing the rocketstove for the household

This sense of connection is echoed by students themselves. After participating in the 2024 expedition, Nicholas captured the experience simply and powerfully:

“We don’t need language to communicate, just making that connection is extremely powerful.”

Together, immersion and reflection transform learning from intellectual understanding into emotional and ethical depth, leaving students with insights that stay with them long after the journey ends.

Awareness Into Action

Installing solar panels to bring clean energy to the village

What sets impact trips apart from traditional travel is the real and visible contribution students make. On GHE impact journeys, students work alongside local communities on projects that directly improve daily life, installing rocket stoves to reduce smoke and fuel use or bringing solar electricity to homes and monasteries. These are not symbolic activities but meaningful interventions with lasting benefits.

Students consistently describe this work as purposeful and empowering. Reflecting on her experience, Sophia, who joined the trip in 2018, shared:

“We’re enabling others. We have the power to do something with our privilege and that is extremely valuable to us as students.”

Working together as a team, learning on the go

For educators and parents, this ability to translate theory into action is what makes these journeys transformative. Learning gains relevance when students step into real-world contexts and engage with people, not just ideas. As Barry reflects:

“Customs take on meaning when we are welcomed into homes where tea and snacks are offered before a word is spoken.”

Working together as a team, learning through doing and contributing to something larger than themselves leaves a lasting impression. These moments become markers of learning, ones students carry with them long after grades are filed and exams are finished.

Growth Through Challenge

Fixing the solar lights inside the households of the villagers

Effective learning often emerges from discomfort and challenge. These journeys intentionally place students in environments that require adaptation, whether it’s acclimating to high altitudes or learning to use unfamiliar tools alongside local villagers. Supported by local experts, students move through uncertainty and gradually build confidence, competence and independence.

Stella, who participated in the 2024 trip, captures this transformation simply:

“After two days, I feel like I can almost do it by myself.”

Experiences like these reflect what progressive educators consistently observe: learning beyond comfort zones fosters cognitive flexibility, resilience and self-efficacy. These qualities are increasingly recognised as essential for 21st-century learners, skills that extend far beyond the classroom and into life itself.

Culture Builds Empathy

Camping under the milky way

GHE’s student impact model places strong emphasis on mutual cultural exchange. Rather than simply observing local traditions, students are welcomed into them. Pottery sessions with village artisans, shared meals, festival dances and visits to monasteries become powerful moments of connection, cultivating empathy, respect and cultural understanding.

Franklin, who participated in 2019, reflects:

“Silence under starlit skies at 4,000 metres reminds us of our shared human vulnerability.”

Students share similar reflections, describing encounters that foster humility and a deeper appreciation for cultures, environments and ways of life beyond their own.

Transformation Observed

Teachers consistently note that students return from these journeys with more than just memories, they return with transformed identities as learners and global citizens. Victoria Allen, who has led student groups on multiple impact trips, observes a clear shift from awareness to empathy. She notes that students come back with:

• Greater resilience

• Stronger cultural understanding

• Renewed respect for community and environment

Celebrating with traditional song and dance

These changes are often visible in how students engage with others, reflect on their experiences and approach learning after the journey.

Such outcomes align with a growing body of educational insight: student-centred, experiential learning nurtures curiosity, empathy and responsibility, qualities that form the foundation of lifelong learning and meaningful global citizenship.

Why GHE Stands Apart

GHE’s approach is built on a carefully designed model that brings learning, service and reflection together. It combines:

• Curriculum-based learning with CAS alignment

• Hands-on service that delivers real community benefit

• Deep cultural immersion rooted in mutual respect

• Genuine responsibility, not symbolic volunteering

• Structured reflection that shapes values and student agency

Engaging in day to day activities of the villagers

By engaging in the day-to-day lives of local communities, students move beyond observation and into participation.

As Professor Naomi Oreskes, who leads the History of Earth Science programme at Harvard University, reflects:

“Living history and shared human experiences offer lessons that the classroom alone cannot replicate.”

In GHE’s model, students don’t just see the world, they engage with it, contribute to it and learn from it in ways that leave a lasting impact.

Learning For Life

Student impact trips matter because they transform learning into lived experience. By blending service, culture, challenge and reflection, GHE equips students not only with knowledge but with empathy, perspective and a deep sense of purpose.

Eugenie, who joined the journey in 2024, captures this best:

“If you’re inside the classroom, you’ll never experience this or know what is out there.”

By amplifying the voices of students and educators alike, GHE student impact trips help nurture thoughtful, responsible leaders, young people prepared to shape a more compassionate and sustainable future.

To explore how this learning comes alive on the ground, read the full story of the ISZL student expedition in Ladakh in our blog, A Journey of Impact.