About us

In 1966, Paul Denison graduated from Hull University with a French and German degree, and joined Wallace Arnold as a tour organiser. After working his way up to become Coach and Air Manager, Paul decided to share his passion for languages and become a Modern Foreign Languages teacher, and later Head of Middle School, in Yorkshire. Combining these two interests, as Paul’s teaching career developed, so too did his commitment to taking his pupils abroad, and this passion for learning outside the classroom motivated him to leave teaching and start his own school travel company.

Lesley left Whitchurch Grammar School in Cardiff in 1967 to spend a year living in Paris. On her return home, she worked in market research for Unilever, before becoming Sales Manageress for one of the three largest entertainment venues in the country. However, Lesley never forgot her time in Paris, and wanting to provide others with the same opportunities which she had been given, began to work in the educational travel industry. In pursuit of her unrelenting standards, Lesley then studied at a post graduate level to further her business knowledge.

In 1992, Lesley and Paul founded Schools Into Europe. The Company name paralleled developments nationally, as in the same year the signing of the Maastricht Treaty took Great Britain into the newly-formed European Union, marking a new age of cultural unity. After eight years of rapid growth, in 2000 Lesley and Paul were joined by their son Rhys, who had just graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in French and Law. This began a new chapter in the company’s history, and made it a truly family-run business. A decade later, after having read History and English Literature at Cardiff University, their other son Geraint entered the business, consolidating the family-run nature of the company.

The success of Schools Into Europe has always depended on the attention and care which it gives to each of its customers. We treat every customer as an individual, and our service is entirely tailor-made to suit the exact needs of each Party Leader. This outstanding service is complemented by our exceptional Health & Safety management system (please see here for more details), and our package tours are underwritten by ABTA for your total financial security. Always embracing new teaching methods, and respecting the best of the old, we are holders of the Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge, and passionately believe in the educational value of our tours.

We are very proud to have longstanding working relationships with teachers throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. We know that quality only happens when you care enough to do your best – we do.