The main purpose of school tours should always be education, but there is no reason why that cannot be combined with fun. One destination that is ideal for both is the beautiful Black Forest in the Baden-Württemberg area of Germany.

A trip to this wooded mountain range will give you plenty of opportunities to enjoy picturesque countryside and outdoor activities. Forest walks in the foothills of the Hochfirst mountain are sure to be memorable and offer your students the chance to experience something they could not do at home.

If you want the youngsters to have some fun during their school trip to Germany, you should include a day at Europa-Park. The largest theme park in the country, it has a huge selection of rides and attractions, together with a number of areas dedicated to Europe's major countries.

For a more educational day during the tour, take your students to Freiburg. The city has a rich history that dates back to the 12th century and there are lots of sights worth visiting in this wonderfully old-fashioned location.

Perhaps the best-known of these is Freiburg Minster, a Gothic-style cathedral that was constructed in the 13th and 14th centuries. It is the best preserved building of its type in Germany and boasts what historian Carl Jakob Burckhardt described as the most beautiful tower in Christianity.

A tour of the city centre should also include visits to both the old and new town halls, which are fine examples of traditional Central European architecture, and the Swabian and Martin Gates, which formed part of Freiburg's original fortifications.

You may also wish to take your students across the French border to Strasbourg, which has some important institutions to visit. Youngsters studying politics or interested in a career in law are sure to benefit from trips to the European Parliament and Court of Human Rights.

Strasbourg also has a fascinating history and is packed with sights, such as the vast sandstone cathedral, Parc de l'Orangerie and National Library. History students may also find a trip to the museum at the site of the former Natzweiler concentration camp in Struthof interesting.

For a very different excursion during your school tour, try a visit to Triberg, which is renowned as the centre of Germany's clock-making industry. The traditional town boasts the world's largest cuckoo clock and a number of spectacular waterfalls that are among the tallest in the country.