Supporting you before you travel

We understand that you need to fully reassure yourself, your colleagues or governing body   before bringing a group to one of our centres, which is why we offer centre preview visits. 

A PGL centre preview visit gives you the best possible insight into your chosen course and destination – along with the opportunity to view the PGL centre, its accommodation, facilities, and meet the centre team.

If you cannot make a visit in person then we can arrange a call with the centre teams, this is often required when wishing to discuss more specific needs of guests such and SEND or dietary requirements. Pre arrival calls can be requested once a booking has been placed using the centre visits form below

For UK centres, follow this link to request a preview visit – www.pgl.co.uk/CentreVisitForm 

Northern France 

Centre preview visits are available for any of the below destinations and can usually be arranged to suit your schedule. For Party Leaders with a confirmed booking we provide two nights’ full board accommodation for two sharing a twin room and we will contribute £100 towards your travel costs. 

For those wishing to visit before confirming their booking, there will be a charge of £20 per person per night which can be refunded upon confirmation of a group booking of 35 or more paying passengers, together with up to £100 towards travel costs. 

You can book a preview at any time by prior arrangement with us, subject to there being space at the centre concerned. 

Call us on 0333 321 2116 for more information and to book your place. 

Available at: 

• Château de Grande Romaine - Paris

For preview visits to Domaine de Segries please speak to the team to enquire on 0333 321 2116

All guests travelling to our centres in France require a valid passport (and visa if applicable). We recommend that you organise passports well in advance as it can take several months for passports to be issued. 

Party Leaders should make sure of the status of members of the group – your local passport office can advise. Advice regarding travel documentation for stateless children can be found here. 

All information you require is available on the Passport Office website. 

There are two types of travel document: 

Full UK Passport - Applications or renewals can now be completed online or you can obtain an application form from the Post Office (more expensive). 

• You’ll need to have at least 6 months left on your passport, from your return date, to travel to most countries in Europe. 
• If you renewed your current passport before the previous one expired, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months required. 

Collective Passport – Valid for children under 18 years of age and of UK nationality travelling abroad with a Party Leader who is over 21 years of age and who holds a full UK passport. In most cases a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 50 passengers can be entered on a collective passport. If you choose to do a collective passport, please be aware it can take an additional 1 hour to get through customs at port. For groups with multiple coaches, we strongly advise you apply for 1 group passport per coach, in case the coaches get split up on the journey. Please see GOV.UK for details of how to apply. Please remember that you may be travelling to neighbouring countries to carry out excursions or as part of your route to France; these should be named on your collective passport. The authorities of the countries you travel through may also require extra copies of the collective passport; these will be supplied by the Passport Office, but you are advised to ask for sufficient copies. 

It is the Party Leader’s responsibility to ensure that all party members are covered by a valid passport and carry this with them and that they have the correct documentation for every member of the group. 

For groups travelling by ferry/Eurotunnel, please be aware that all party members will be required to disembark the coach for immigration checks. 

The European Union’s new Entry/Exit system (EES) is now in force. This is a digital border control system that applies to British citizens travelling to countries within the Schengen area for short stays. 

Under the new system, UK passport holders are required to register biometric data including fingerprints and a facial image upon arrival at border control. There is no need to take any action before travel, and no cost is associated with this registration. The process will take place at the ferry port/airport of entry. 

Whilst the EES is being introduced in phases and may not yet be fully operational at all ferry and airport border points, we strongly recommend checking the latest travel guidance on the UK Government website shortly before your departure. This will ensure you are fully informed and prepared. 

Please also be aware that border processing times may be slightly longer than usual, however at present we do not believe any amendments to itineraries and travel plans are necessary. If we are provided with any further updates, or amendments to travel are required, we will of course provide further information to you. 

For further details and the most up-to-date information on the EES, please refer to the official government guidance here : EU Entry/Exit System – GOV.UK 

For current visa information, please check with the embassy/consulate of the countries involved. 

Most children on school trips do not require a visa to enter France. Please find further information here, under school trips, to check they meet the criteria. Many adult non-EU passport holders require a visa to gain entry into France. Use this link to check whether a visa is required. If members of your party require visas to enter other countries, please ensure that they have a visa for re-entry into the UK. Further information is available here. 

For full details and latest travel advice, please visit the government website. 

For further travel advice please see details from ABTA. 

Parental Authorisation and Consent 

In addition to requiring parental consent for medical and health matters, you may also be required to provide evidence of consent to take the child out of the country. The Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel (OEAP) offers the following advice on parental consent for crossing borders: 

“Border officials in the UK and other countries monitor departing children because of concerns about child sexual exploitation and abduction, and occasionally ask for evidence of parental consent from all those with parental responsibility. Establishments should therefore consider carrying evidence of parental consent from all those with parental responsibility, for all children in the group, when travelling overseas.” 

For further guidance on overseas visits please visit the OEAP website.