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Business & Economics Trips to London

The City of London is a world leader in business and financial services where companies and investors from around the world meet and do business.  Many Business Studies students will aspire to work in the city and on a visit to the capital they can visit some of London’s oldest financial institutions along with some of the new kids on the block.  

Businesses, sporting venues and even theme parks offer visits and workshops from industry professionals on all aspects of the syllabus including marketing, operations management, people and finance.

Explore all of our London student tours

Curriculum Topics Key Stage 4 & 5

  • Understanding the nature and purpose of Business
  • Understanding management, leadership and decision making
  • Decision making to improve marketing performance
  • Decision making to improve human resource performance
  • How the government manages the economy

Prices start from£169pp

Popular itinerary

Our sample itinerary provides you with an idea of the visits you can cover during your trip. We can tailor-make an itinerary to support your specific learning outcomes.

Morning Afternoon Evening
1 Group Rail travel to London, drop bags at your accommodation Business guided walking tour Dinner followed by West End Show or flight on the London Eye
2 Wimbledon Business Tour Business workshop at St Paul's Cathedral Return Group Rail Travel
  • 1
  • 2
Morning Group Rail travel to London, drop bags at your accommodation
Afternoon Business guided walking tour
Evening Dinner followed by West End Show or flight on the London Eye
Morning Wimbledon Business Tour
Afternoon Business workshop at St Paul's Cathedral
Evening Return Group Rail Travel

Price Shown includes

  • Return rail travel (based on the fare from Birmingham stations)
  • 1 night B&B accommodation
  • Specialist group travel insurance
  • Bespoke itinerary planning service
  • Free place ratios
  • Locate My Trip - live trip tracking app 
  • Online trip organiser & travel app
  • 24/7 support whilst you are away

Places to Stay


Reasons to Visit

The lastminute.com London Eye

The famous London Eye is one of the world’s highest observation wheels, standing at 135 metres high. The wheel has thirty-two capsules, each of which holds 25 people and views possible as far away as twenty-five miles on a clear day.

The View from The Shard

The View from the Shard is situated on floors 68, 69 and 72, almost twice the height of any other viewing platform in London, where you can take in all of London at once with 360 degree views of up to 40 miles long.

Sightseeing Tours by bus

Hop-on hop-off bus tours are great for general sightseeing, giving access to all the major sites. Departing from Grosvenor Gardens it includes Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Eye and Piccadilly Circus.

Thames River Cruises

A great opportunity for you to discover the 'must-see' sights in London. Watch as the River Thames weaves its way through the heart of London and see the history of this city around every bend. Cruises depart frequently from Westminster Pier, Waterloo (London Eye) Pier, Tower Pier and Greenwich Pier.

IFS Cloud Cable Car

Rising to a height of 90 metres, the IFS Cloud Cable Car offers you an exciting 1.1km cable car journey across the Thames on the UK’s only urban cable car connecting the Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Victoria Dock.

The London Dungeons

Transport yourself back to the darkest moments in the capital's history within the deep depths of the London Dungeons.

Madame Tussauds

Madame Tussauds is one of London’s most popular tourist attractions with over 400 wax works of celebrities, politicians, pop stars and actors.   A fully interactive experience, Madame Tussauds will inspire, enthuse and immerse pupils in celebrity culture and modern media as they walk among the stars!

Downloadable lesson plans are available to enhance and support your visit which will explore the media, fake news and celebrity culture.   

ArcelorMittal Orbit

The ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Queen Elizabeth Park, Stratford which is the iconic structure of the London 2012 Games and has the longest and tallest tunnel slide in the world. 

Take the lift up to the viewing platform, 80 meters high, and after marvelling at the view take the slide down which lasts a thrilling 40 seconds! Go back to the top and take some time learning about the city on the interactive touchscreens or making use of the free Key Stage 1-4 resources before walking back down the winding staircase with its 455 steps.

You can book with or without the slide and you can choose to stay the whole day in the park by taking a behind the scenes tour at the iconic London Stadium, swimming at the London Aquatics Centre or visiting the Lee Valley Velopark; alternatively, explore the parklands and waterways with a local Blue Badge guide.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge, which crosses the River Thames, was built between 1886 and 1894 and is an iconic symbol of London with its two towers and bridge deck which opens to allow tall ships through. You can walk across the lower bridge deck but the twin towers and high-level glass walkways and Victorian engine rooms are part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

St Paul’s Cathedral - “A Fine Line” Workshop

This visit offers a unique ‘dual’ opportunity for students to discover the beauty and spirituality of the Cathedral and to investigate its role as a business, a venue for corporate events and centre for the Arts plus its function as a major employer in the city of London. This visit is linked specifically with the Business Studies syllabus.

Thorpe Park - Theme Park Visit and Business Workshops

Learning through enjoyment is the ethos at THORPE PARK Resort. Alongside a visit to the theme park, you can add a 45 minute interactive workshop from their award winning Business programme. Available at Key Stage 2-5, leisure industry experts reveal the secrets behind operating a leading leisure and tourism business.  Choose from:

Thorpe Park Resort As a Business

From creative Marketing, efficient Environmental Management and evolving Customer Service, discover what is required to run an exciting leisure business

  • Identify key aims and objectives of the business
  • Interpret business strategies to develop their own recommendations

Marketing

Learn the importance of Market Research, understanding your target market and delivering a unique product.  Embark on a journey through the parks brand re-positioning and exciting new changes at THORPE PARK Resort.

  • Understand the benefits and risks to a business of expanding and be aware of methods of expansion used by large businesses 
  • Recognise the benefits and risks to a business of expanding and be aware of methods of expansion used by large businesses 

Guest Care

The Guest Care workshop highlights the importance of good customer service to a successful business like THORPE PARK Resort. An opportunity to discover how to adapt to different customers and look to satisfy customer needs and exceed expectations to keep customers returning

  • Understand the range of customer needs and the importance of customer characteristics.
  • Discover meeting and exceeding customer expectations.

Human Resources

This workshop explores how Thorp Park recruit the right staff and train them the right way to create a unique atmosphere. Discover how recruitment, training and employee relations combine to acquire and develop a team of over 1,000 staff in a wide variety of operational and support roles.

  • Assess internal and external influences on HR objectives
  • Match workforce skills, size and location to business needs, minimising labour cost, making full use of the workforce's potential

 

 

Silicon Roundabout Guided Walking Tour

This is a two-hour walking tour, which begins at Shoreditch Grind outside Old Street Station. This informative tour covers the areas ecosystem- its past, its present and its future. The group will first learn about the origins of Silicon Roundabout, from a grimy roundabout to the third largest tech start-up cluster after New York City and San Francisco. Using inspiring examples of start-up tech company successes, discover the workings of a modern business eco-system. This is an exploration of the start-up culture in East London as well as the relationship between small and big businesses, analysing the presence of recent movers to the area such as Amazon.

This tour will analyse future business trends for students going into the job market, exploring what’s on offer for future workers and how technology has transformed jobs in traditional sectors. Walking through the vibrant area of Shoreditch, the tour will end at Google Campus on Bonhill Street, a short walk from Moorgate and Old Street Stations.

Museum of Brands - visit and workshop

Evocative and inspiring, this museum displays images and iconic brands which chart the history of consumer culture. Using household products and shopping basket favourites, their 'time tunnel’ explores the nostalgic journey from Victorian times to the present day.

1 hour business workshops are also available, covering topics such as branding, packaging, sustainability and customer profiling.

Fullers Griffin Brewery

One of the UK's leading independent brewers and retailers, famous for its beers, pubs, bars and hotels. Fuller's brewers use traditional ingredients, great care in the brewing process and stringent quality controls. Their excellent guides will show you around and will try to answer any tricky questions you may still be harbouring. Minimum 16 years of age.

Wimbledon Business Presentation

Learn the history of this most famous tennis tournament. The Museum includes memorabilia from famous players and includes views of Centre Court and a state of the art Audio/Visual Theatre showing highlights of great players in action. Themed guided tours will give your students a unique insight into the 'Business of Wimbledon' or 'Marketing an Attraction'.

Insider London Business Visits & Workshops

Insider London provide company visits and workshops which will inspire your students and show them how what they're learning in the classroom translates into a future career path. Choose from:

Business Model Canvas Workshop

CKX - Artificial Inteligence

Defining Leadership Workshop

Loke - Marketing App

Metro Bank 

Seedrs - Crowdfunding

Verb Brands

Web Design

ThisThat - Marketing through Influencer Innovation

 

ThisThat - Marketing through Influencer Innovation

Influencer marketing is the fusion of classic endorsement with contemporary content-driven strategies. ThisThat harnesses the power of individuals with significant social media followings to amplify brand influence. By crafting narratives that resonate on a personal level, the company propels brands into the hearts of their consumers.

Museum of Brands - Customer Profiling Workshop

During this one hour workshop students discover how and why brands develop a customer profile. While working on a given product, students produce an in-depth profile of both its typical customer and an alternative customer. Students will investigate the needs of these different markets and consider how they should be marketed to, thus improving their understanding of how a brand might position itself.

City Finance Walking Tour

The City Finance Walking Tour meets outside St Paul's Underground Station in the historic Panyer Alley. Over this two-hour walking tour the origins of London's financial centre and indeed the world's first Stock Exchange will be discovered.

Among other events which are discussed along the tour are the 17th century coffee houses plus the City's ancient and unusual governance which played a massive part in the birth of the Stock Exchange. Our Insider London guide will take you around and area known as "The City" which is a city within the city of London. Here you will see such sites as the London Stock Exchange, Guildhall, the Bank of England, Lloyds of London, Rothschild's and many more. The tour will finish outside the world's oldest insurance broker, Willis, a short walk from Bank and Liverpool Street Stations.

The present and future for London as a global financial centre and the competition it faces from other major cities, such as New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, will also be discussed along the way; making the tour more relevant to current and topical world affairs. This tour is particularly relevant for students of business and economics.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tour and Workshop

Step behind the scenes at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on this immersive, self-guided experience and learn about how the stadium has been designed to create one of the best matchday experiences in the world. Gain exclusive access to First Team areas, as well as the custom-designed NFL facilities. Gain an insight into how the players prepare on a matchday and follow their journey by walking out of the first-team changing rooms, through the tunnel, and into the dugouts - you can almost hear the crowd!

 
Groups will then experience a 30 min classroom exercise which will offer a unique insight into football operations within the club. The workshop will focus on matchday and non-matchday operations, and pupils will gain an insight in the following areas: 
 
- Retail
- Operations
- Stewarding
- Partnerships
- Audio & Visual/Tech
- Marketing
- Finance

Business of Football Tour - Chelsea Football Club

This tour is aimed at GCSE and vocational business students. It provides an exciting insight into match day and non-match day operations at the club focusing on merchandise, marketing, finance and staffing. Students complete a workbook during the visit with answers provided by an experienced guide.

Fashion Enter - Factory Visit

Over the last 17 years, Fashion Enter has given students a unique and invaluable insight into the world of fashion and garment production.

The two-hour site visit can be tailored to suit the group's studies, and includes:

  • The manufacturing process of a garment - from initial idea right through to delivery (The Garment Life Cycle)
  • The supply chain and challenges a supplier faces
  • Critical path
  • What makes the factory SMETA approved
  • Tour of the factory - review of the cutting table, industrial machines flat bed and over-locker, quality control stations
  • How long it takes to make a garment
  • How a garment is costed
  • Tour of the fashion studio - patterns, grading, toiles, sampling and small production runs

The Business of Theatre Talk

Hear from an industry professional and learn about the business of the business! What does it take to finance, staff and promote a theatre production?

West End Theatre Tickets

The majority of student groups who visit London like to round off their trip by seeing a show. We can also book pre-theatre meals at nearby restaurants for you. Save up to 50% on the normal ticket price by attending a midweek (Mon-Thurs) evening or matinee performance. The majority of top West End shows offer these affordable discounted tickets to student groups year round (excluding school holiday dates).

Wicked

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE WITCHES OF OZ...

WICKED tells the incredible untold story of an unlikely but profound friendship between two young women who first meet as sorcery students at Shiz University: the blonde and very popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda's unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power while Elphaba's determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences for her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfil their destinies as Glinda The Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.

WICKED is suitable for a general audience. As a guide to parents and guardians, it is recommended for ages 7+

(Source: https://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/london/about/synopsis)

NOTE: There are other shows/plays on offer not featured. All are subject to availability.

Matilda the Musical

Matilda The Musical is the multi-award winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl. With book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, Matilda The Musical is the story of an extraordinary little girl who, armed with a vivid imagination and a sharp mind, dares to take a stand and change her own destiny.

Recommended for ages 6 and above.

(Source: https://uk.matildathemusical.com/about/the-story/)

NOTE: There are other shows/plays on offer not featured. All are subject to availability.

The Lion King

Set against the majesty of the Serengeti Plains and to the evocative rhythms of Africa, Disney's multi award-winning musical uses breath-taking masks and puppetry to create pure theatrical magic. At its heart is the powerful and moving story of Simba - the epic adventure of his journey from wide-eyed cub to his destined role as King of the Pridelands.

(Source: https://disney.co.uk/shows/the-lion-king-musical-tickets)

NOTE: There are other shows/plays on offer not featured. All are subject to availability.

Mamma Mia!

Set on a Greek Island Paradise, the story of a daughter on the eve of her wedding and her quest to discover the identify of her father, all set to the music of ABBA.

NOTE: There are other shows/plays on offer not featured. All are subject to availability.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Founded in 1852, it is well known for the wide variety of its collection. The items include furniture, fashion and textiles, sculpture, paintings, silver, glass, ceramics, jewellery, books, prints and photographs which illustrate the artistic life of many different cultures from all over the world.

Tate Modern

Tate Modern is Britain's new collection of modern art. The museum contains works from 1900 to present day and includes Dali, Picasso, Matisse, Rothko, Warhol and more contemporary artists. There is also a wide range of temporary exhibitions and public programmes.

Science Museum

The Science Museum, founded in 1857, is one of London’s major tourist attractions, attracting 3.3 million visitors annually. They do not charge for admission, however, there may be a charge for temporary exhibitions.

The Science Museum holds a collection of over 300,000 items, including such famous items such as Stephenson’s Rocket, Puffing Billy (the oldest surviving steam locomotive), the first jet engine, the Apollo 10 Command module, hundreds of interactive exhibits and an IMAX 3D Cinema.

The Science Museum is made up of a number of themed galleries including; Power, Exploring Space, Making of the Modern World, Flight, Information Age, Engineer Your Future and Medicine.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour - Harry Potter

Go behind-the-scenes in the making of Harry Potter and see how many things the camera never showed. From breathtakingly detailed sets to stunning costumes, props and animatronics, Warner Bro. Studio Tour provides a unique showcase of the extraordinary British artistry, technology and talent that went into making one of the most successful film franchises. Short workshops are also available in a variety of subjects including set design, camera choices and many more.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history.

As well as being located in a stunning and striking Romanesque architecture building, which is considered a work of art in its own right, the museum is famous for the dinosaurs and is home to over 80 million specimens spanning 4.5 billion years of Earth's history.

The museum offers too much to mention here but have collections under the categories of: oceans, human evolution, space, dinosaurs, British wildlife as well as visiting collections and exhibitions. Check out their website for up-to-date information.  https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

 

London Zoo

ZSL London Zoo is the world's oldest scientific zoo and one of London’s main tourist attractions, located on the edge of Regents Park. 

They have a range of online resources available to download and use before, during and after a visit to ZSL London Zoo. Some of the resources are for the pupils to use and some are for the accompanying adults.

London Aquarium

The £25 million London Aquarium is the first attraction of its kind in London and is one of Europe's largest exhibitions of global aquatic life displayed in over 2 million litres of water. 

Visit to discover the amazing marine life at SEA LIFE London Aquarium, find out about penguins, sea turtles, sharks, jellyfish and much more. Travel through Pacific Ocean tunnels, tropical rainforests (and even a shark reef!) to see the different habitats on planet earth!


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Expert's comment

 St Pauls was an excellent visit. We looked at the business of running St Pauls and this gave our students a different perspective on businesses in the UK. Bishop Burton College​

 The tour of Wimbledon was fantastic and the tour guide was excellent. The students gained a lot from this visit and it gave them a great insight into the Business side of Wimbledon - this was the highlight of the tour for us. St Ambrose High School

All staff were attentive and quic​k to respond...I found Lauren and Rachelle brilliant. The visit to the Royal Academy was brilliant. The Brooksbank School​

 I will continue to use EST as each year our annual London trip gets better and better. Kings Leadership Academy

 An excellent trip which was thoroughly enjoyed by staff and students. I received great support throughout. Sir John Deanes College

 This was my second journey via European Study tours and I would highly recommend the company to anyone bringing groups to London. Pianca School