Beale Park trips 2025
Over the summer we ran some Beale Park trips for kS1 Whitley school children. As in previous years, these were a huge success and the children (and adults!) had lots of fun!
Beale Park trips 2022
In 2022, Aspire2 were able to offer a free trip to Beale Park for every child in Year 2 in Whitley schools. They had the option to also use the Aspire2 minibusses for their travel. We would like to express how grateful we are to Beale Park for their donation of all the tickets, which enabled some of the children to see wild animals for the first time in their lives.
This trip was put into action with the intention to widen children’s horizons and give them a taste of the countryside, and exotic animals allowing them to experience a world that is geographically very close but seems a million miles away to them. We wanted this trip to help children develop their aspirations, confidence, teamwork, and many more vital life skills, which would help them develop and progress in their future.
Lucy Costello, CEO of Beale Park said: “We are so impressed by the ethos of Aspire2, which enriches the lives of many children in the Reading area. We are delighted to have created a partnership where we can open up our facilities to those that need it most. Our own charitable trust was set up by Gilbert Beale, who was keen to give back to the local community by creating an amenity that could be enjoyed by the public and wildlife alike. The schools that have visited us have been a pleasure and we are so happy they are benefitting from their wildlife park experience.”
For many children, this was their first trip to a wildlife park, and their first school trip since before the Covid-19 pandemic. One Headteacher remarked “It was such a wonderful day. I could not believe for some children it was their first time experiencing a zip wire. It was beautiful seeing the children giggling and building strong relationships with each other as they role played being meerkats. Their awe and wonder at the animals was wonderful and I am sure it is an experience they will never forget. The fact the children haven’t had a trip out for the last two years means this has had even more impact on them as they realise there are wonderful places close to Reading that they and we can visit.”
The children themselves summed up their day as “the best trip ever”, with their key highlights including the lynx, the otter, the zip wire and the train.