Of the 1,400 teachers surveyed, 97 percent felt it was important that children learn about the countryside. However, 79 percent cited health and safety concerns and 49 percent mentioned fear of litigation in the event of an accident as reasons for not organising trips to the countryside.
The Countryside Alliance, which commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research to conduct the survey, said that of the "millions" of school trips taken over the past decade, only 364 had ended in legal action, and in just 156 of these was the school found culpable.
It also said that while 85 per cent of the 2,127 six- to 15-year-olds surveyed would like to take part in activities like falconry, fishing and farm visits, only 46 per cent had actually gone on a school trip to the countryside in the past year.
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