Forty kids. Two nights. One venue. If you're a teacher or camp coordinator staring down a blank planning document, that sentence alone might make your shoulders tense. A two-night itinerary for school groups needs to be tight enough to avoid chaos, but loose enough that nobody feels rushed. Berrima Retreat, tucked into the Southern Highlands of NSW, is built for exactly this brief.

This guide walks you through a full two-night itinerary for school groups, using a cohort of 50 students as a working example from arrival to departure. It's written for teachers, year coordinators, and school camp organisers who need a plan that actually works on the ground, not just on paper.

The Problem With Planning a School Camp for 50 Students

Booking accommodation for a group this size is harder than it sounds. Split your students across two motels and you've split your supervision too. Someone always ends up managing a logistics headache instead of the kids.

Then there's the risk of sharing a venue with strangers. A caravan park or budget hotel might take your booking, but you're still surrounded by other guests. That means noise complaints, awkward pool-sharing, and staff who have to police behaviour around people who didn't sign up for a school camp.

Meals are another sticking point. Forty growing kids need real food, on time, without a 20-minute drive to the nearest café. And activities matter too. Two nights with nothing planned leads to boredom, and boredom leads to trouble.

Most teachers we speak with want the same three things: everyone under one roof, a private space away from the public, and enough structured activity to keep energy channelled in the right direction.

Why Berrima Retreat Solves It

Berrima Retreat is exclusive-use accommodation. When your school books the property, it's yours, no other guests, no strangers wandering through, no distractions. Every student sleeps in a real bed, not a stretcher or a sofa-bed, across a property that comfortably sleeps 22 to 55 guests.

That means your two-night itinerary for school groups can run without interruption. Teachers supervise one contained group in one location, not a scattered cohort across multiple buildings. The whole property, mansion, grounds, and facilities, belongs to your school for the duration of your stay.

There's a commercial kitchen on-site too, so catering for 50 hungry students is straightforward rather than stressful. You can self-cater, bring in a caterer, or work with local suppliers in Berrima village. Either way, meals happen on your schedule.

The location helps as well. Berrima sits about 90 minutes from Sydney and a similar distance from Canberra, so it's an easy coach trip for most NSW and ACT schools. Once you arrive, you're free of traffic, phone reception distractions, and the pull of the city. Just the group, the grounds, and the program you've built.

Benefits of Choosing Berrima Retreat for a School Group

Exclusive use is the single biggest advantage. Your two-night itinerary for school groups runs without competing for space, pools, or common areas with anyone outside your school community.

Real beds for every student is another point worth flagging to parents. Nobody wants a note home about stretchers or shared sleeping bags on the floor. At Berrima Retreat, every student and staff member has a proper bed.

Supervision becomes far simpler with one contained site. Multiple lounge rooms, a games room, and wide outdoor spaces mean you can split the group into smaller activity clusters without anyone leaving the property. Teachers can see across the grounds rather than chasing students between separate buildings.

The Southern Highlands setting adds genuine educational value too. Berrima is one of Australia's best-preserved Georgian-era villages, with sandstone buildings and streets that predate Federation. It's a living history lesson right outside the gate, a strong tie-in for humanities, geography, or local history units.

Finally, there's the emotional outcome that matters most: kids come home talking about the experience, not complaining about the accommodation. That's the outcome every organiser is really booking for.

Things to Do Across Two Nights

Here's how a two-night itinerary for school groups might come together at Berrima Retreat, blending free time, structured activity, and rest. This example is built around a group of 50 students.

Day One

• Arrival Afternoon Coaches arrive early afternoon. Allow time for bag drops, room allocations, and a full property walkthrough. Kids are usually buzzing with energy after the drive, so head straight into active options: the volleyball and cricket lawn, table tennis, or a swim in the pool.
• Evening Dinner from the commercial kitchen, then something communal. The firepit is a natural gathering point for a group briefing, a quiet activity, or supervised free time before lights out. The media and cinema room is a good wind-down option for a calmer group.

Day Two:

• Full Activity Day This is where the Activities on offer really earn their keep. Rotate smaller groups through kayaking on the dam, the bike trails, and a visit with the farm animals. The giant jumping pillow is consistently the highest-energy stop on any school itinerary, plan it for mid-morning or after lunch.
• Afternoon Give students supervised free choice: pool tables, board games, or more time on the lawn. Some schools use this window for a structured workshop or reflection session tied to curriculum outcomes.
• Evening A second night around the firepit works well, especially paired with a talent show, campfire songs, or a quiz night in the games room. It's often the moment students remember most.

Day Three

• Departure Morning Breakfast, pack-up, and a final walk through the grounds before coaches depart. Build in buffer time here, packing 50 students always takes longer than expected.

If you'd like to see the spaces in more detail before you plan, the Gallery gives a good sense of what's available across the property.

Planning Tips for Organisers

Confirm your student and staff ratios early, and check them against the property's sleeping capacity through the Accommodation page. Berrima Retreat sleeps between 22 and 55 guests, so a group of 50 fits comfortably with room to spare for staff.

Build your meal plan around the commercial kitchen. Decide early whether you're self-catering, hiring a cook, or sourcing from Berrima village, and lock this in well before arrival.

Pack a rough itinerary but stay flexible. Weather in the Southern Highlands can shift quickly, so have an indoor backup for every outdoor activity block.

Brief your staff on zones, not just times. With this much space, it helps if each supervising teacher owns a specific area, pool, games room, or grounds, rather than trying to watch everything at once.

If your trip has a curriculum angle, look at what's nearby. Visit NSW has useful planning resources for group excursions in the region, and the Australia.com Southern Highlands guide is a solid reference for local history and attractions worth folding into your program.

For schools planning their first group stay, the Schools page outlines what to expect from booking through departure.

School Risk Assessment for Your Camp

Every school excursion needs a documented risk assessment before it's approved, and a two-night itinerary for school groups is no exception. Berrima Retreat provides a Berrima Retreat School Risk Assessment template that organisers can download and adapt for their own excursion approval process.

The template covers the areas most schools need to sign off on, including:

• Supervision ratios across sleeping quarters, the pool, and activity zones
• Water safety for the swimming pool and dam-based kayaking
• Activity-specific hazards, such as the bike trails, jumping pillow, and games room equipment
• Emergency procedures, including evacuation points and nearest medical facilities
• Site-specific hazards, such as farm animal interaction and outdoor terrain

Use the template as a starting point, then customise it with your school's own policies, first-aid arrangements, and staff-to-student ratios. It's worth completing this early in your planning, since most schools require sign-off from a principal or executive before a two-night stay can be confirmed. If you have questions about specific facilities while completing your assessment, the Contact Page is the fastest way to get direct answers from the Berrima Retreat team.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How many students can Berrima Retreat accommodate?
  • The property sleeps 22 to 55 guests in real beds, so a group of 50 students and staff fits comfortably with capacity to spare.
• Is the venue exclusive to our school during our stay?
  • Yes. Berrima Retreat operates on an exclusive-use basis, meaning no other guests are on the property during your booking.
• What catering options are available?
  • There's a full commercial kitchen on-site. Schools can self-cater, arrange an external caterer, or source meals locally in Berrima village.
• How far is Berrima Retreat from Sydney and Canberra?
  • It's roughly 90 minutes' drive from both Sydney and Canberra, making coach travel straightforward for most NSW and ACT schools.
• What activities are included on the property?
  • Options include a swimming pool, kayaks on the dam, bike trails, a giant jumping pillow, farm animals, a games room, cinema room, and outdoor sports lawns.
• Is the property suitable for students with different energy levels?
  • Yes. The mix of high-energy spaces like the jumping pillow and pool sits alongside quieter options like the cinema room and lounge areas, so staff can balance the group's pace.
• Do we need to bring our own bedding?
  • Every guest sleeps in a real bed rather than a stretcher or sofa-bed. Check with the team when booking for specific bedding requirements.
• How do we book a two-night stay for our school group?
  • Reach out through the Contact Page with your student numbers and preferred dates, and the team will confirm availability and next steps.

Ready to Plan Your Group's Stay?

A well-built two-night itinerary for school groups comes down to one thing: a venue that removes the logistical stress so you can focus on the students. Berrima Retreat offers exclusive use of a private mansion and grounds, real beds for everyone, and enough activities to fill two full days without repetition.

Set in the Southern Highlands and within easy reach of Sydney and Canberra, it's a location that feels like a genuine escape while still being simple to get to. Everything your group needs is under one roof — no splitting across hotels, no sharing space with strangers, no compromises.

If you're ready to lock in your dates, get in touch through the Contact Page to check availability and start building your itinerary with the Berrima Retreat team.