SCHOOL trips are making a comeback. Forget all you have heard about over-protective parents who do not want to let their children out of their sight and teachers scared of being sued.

The Government wants to make it compulsory for every child to go on a school visit - and protect teachers who fear repercussions if there is an accident.

With half term in full swing, thousands of students around the country are having the time of their lives away from home.

At Worcester's Christopher Whitehead School for example, they are putting into practice foreign language skills, learning about different cultures and, above all, getting an all-round education that cannot be received sitting behind a desk all day.

Three trips left the school this week, introducing pupils to the delights of Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

School visits have long been part of the education experience but, in an increasingly litigious society, teachers have become more reluctant to act in loco parentis away from the classroom.

But Chrissies headteacher Neil Morris calls the attitude which discourages risk-taking 'mollycoddling'.

"School trips are invaluable," he says. "It's not politically correct to say it but we live in a state of almost permanent mollycoddling.

"The catchphrase at the moment is 'creating the global citizen of tomorrow'. It's about extending their horizons."

Nevertheless, the risks and sense of adventure are controlled and no stone is left unturned to make sure safety is not compromised.

"Teachers go out, in this case a year in advance, on preparatory trips to complete detailed risk assessments," says Mr Morris.

"As we've done our job in school it should be OK but I'm crossing my fingers because we all know there are always calamities around the corner.

"We have 30 activities after school and, touch wood, we've not had a single problem in the past year and that's because we follow rigorous safety guidelines."

School trips were high on the pre-election agenda. Tony Blair emphasised his commitment when he went to the Upton Warren Outdoor Activity Centre near Droitwich. Mr Blair spoke about sending children on trips because they were 'good for their health, good for building character'.

Full details of the Government's Manifesto for Education Outside the Classroom are to be unveiled at the start of the next academic year. Every child will be promised a trip and new safety guidelines will be laid out. Crucially, it will also ensure teachers will not be liable if an accident occurs.

Teachers themselves understand how vital school trips are to students. Brian Carter, spokesman for this region's branch of the National Union of Teachers, says trip leaders are advised to follow guidelines to the letter.

"Our members ask us for guidance and they have shown anxiety in the past because of high-profile cases but school trips are an important part of the curriculum," he says. "It is important however that procedures, such as adult-to-student ratio, are followed."

Christopher Whitehead's students will learn more in their week on the continent than a whole term's worth of lessons and leave them with memories they will keep forever.

But their parents, despite knowing the school has done everything to ensure their safety, will still be relieved to see them back in Worcester in one piece.

And, as the responsible headteacher, Mr Morris will share that concern.

"These sort of trips are invaluable," he says. "But I'll go down to meet them when they return and will be quietly relieved to see them all get back safe and well.

Hoodless youths launch new website to combat prejudice

FED up with the label "yobs and delinquents," youngsters from the national helpline Youth2Youth have launched a new website to show that the youth of today do care about others.

The site, run by young people for young people, is aimed at 11 to 19-year-olds to coincide with the exam period to minimise the stress for students.

Launched today it will provide young people with emotional problems the opportunity of being helped by trained volunteers from the local community.

Julia, a 17-year-old volunteer working on the Youth2Youth helpline, said: "Many young people experiencing exam pressures feel they have no one to talk to. As most of the volunteers at Youth2Youth are taking exams themselves, we really do understand the problems they're going through. Many callers find being able to talk to another young person is easier than talking to an adult."

The confidential helpline is open every Monday and Thursday evening from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.

Helpline telephone number: 020 8896 3675. E-mail help: talk@youth2youth.co.uk. New website: www.youth2youth.co.uk

Further information about Youth2Youth can be obtained by emailing office@youth2 youth.co.uk

Court case puts issues into focus

DESPITE statistics showing the chance of a student getting killed on a school trip is less that one in eight million, when tragedies do occur, they bring the risks back into focus.

A trial date was this week set for a teacher charged in connection with the death of a student who drowned in a Malvern Hills quarry in June 2001.

Seventeen-year-old Yunus Ismail Moola was with a party of students from Central Technology College in Gloucester when he died. Andrew Barker, aged 54, of Cotswold Avenue, Cirencester, has denied two counts of failing to take proper care of his students.

His trial is due to begin on Monday, September 26 at Worcester Crown Court.

Last month, an inquest recorded that North Yorkshire student Alex Foulkes died by accident after he drowned in a freezing river in the Italian Alps on a school trip.

And in March the Health and Safety Executive ruled the main cause of the death of 10-year-old Max Palmer, who drowned in the Lake District in 2002, was 'serious errors of judgement' by the trip leader.