Student Leadership Expeditions: Camps International and Raleigh International

Camps International and Raleigh International are joining forces to offer schools a programme of leadership-focused expeditions for students aged 14 to 17, launching in 2026. Both are ITG brands with deep roots in youth development and overseas travel. Together, through the Camps International in Partnership with Raleigh International Expeditions, they bring a depth of experience and operational rigour that sets a clear standard for what school travel can achieve.

Camps International has spent more than 24 years building permanent, community-embedded operations across Latin America, East Africa and Southeast Asia. Their camps are not temporary infrastructure. They are long-term local presences, staffed by people from the communities they serve, running programmes that continue year-round whether or not a school group is in the country.

Raleigh International brings more than 40 years of experience and 57,000 alumni to the partnership. Their track record in leadership development, challenge-based learning and global citizenship is internationally recognised. Raleigh expeditions are built around pushing young people beyond their perceived limits and equipping them with the skills to lead in environments that are genuinely unfamiliar.

The Camps International in Partnership with Raleigh International Expeditions brings these complementary strengths together under a shared commitment to outcomes that last well beyond the trip itself, combining Camps’ community depth and operational continuity with Raleigh’s leadership methodology and expedition expertise, all held to the same impact standard that runs across the ITG group.

Two weeks in an unfamiliar environment, with real responsibilities and genuine challenge built in, can mark a meaningful shift in how a young person carries themselves. With the right structure and supported reflection, students develop:

• Leadership capability earned through real decision-making in high-challenge environments
• Resilience built through supported challenge and structured reflection, not hardship for its own sake
• Cultural intelligence through genuine immersion in communities and environments far beyond the classroom
• Ethical awareness through direct engagement with conservation and community development work
• The confidence to contribute, collaborate and take responsibility in a team

These outcomes show up in personal statements, university interviews and in the confidence students carry back into school. The 57,000 Raleigh alumni who have come before them are evidence of what that kind of experience can produce.

The programme is structured around what schools need in practice. Expeditions run during Easter and October half-term to reduce curriculum disruption. Safeguarding frameworks, risk assessments and experienced in-country teams are available for senior leadership review. Learning outcomes are clear, measurable and aligned with what schools want students to gain. All expeditions are ATOL protected.

For decision-makers, the question is whether your travel provider can demonstrate value on both sides: what students come home with and what the places they visit are left with. The Camps International in Partnership with Raleigh International Expeditions is designed to answer that question with evidence, not assurances.

The programme launches across three destinations: Borneo, Costa Rica and South Africa. Each location is supported by an ITG Destination Management Company (DMC) with established on-the-ground presence, local partnerships and community relationships built over years. The communities are established, the local partnerships are trusted and the work is already in progress. Students do not arrive to start something new. They arrive to contribute to something ongoing and leave it further forward than they found it.

Camps International is a social enterprise that balances profits with philanthropy. Camps operate a permanent network of international camps in the heart of rural communities and wildlife conservation areas through their wholly owned operations in Latin America, East Africa and Southeast Asia. Camps are located where poverty levels are high and/or significant environmental and wildlife conservation challenges exist. Most camps are established on community land, and they employ local people to build, staff and supply their camps, with each one acting as the hub from which they run their wide range of sustainable projects and adventure activities for young people from around the globe. Projects vary from constructing school classrooms and supplying drinking water to terrestrial and marine wildlife conservation, reforestation, environmental education and microfinance initiatives. All Camps International UK expeditions are ATOL protected.

Raleigh International is a youth expedition organisation building on over 45 years of experience empowering young people through meaningful travel. With more than 57,000 alumni – including The Prince and Princess of Wales, astronaut Tim Peake – Raleigh has a long-standing legacy of impact and leadership development. Raleigh Expeditions offer 18–24-year-olds the chance to join structured, immersive programmes where they contribute to meaningful community and environmental projects while building key life and leadership skills on 4, 5, 7 or 10 week Expedition programmes in South Africa, Costa Rica or Borneo.