[@Rune_Alchemist] Novices and below are forbidden outright from journeying into the woods I'm afraid. Then again, that's what the Field Trips are for :) So all you need are two people and you can choose a suitable location to go spirit hunting.

. . . out of context, that sounds like prologue of a horror film. 

Of note, there are in fact, necromancers studying in the school. It's what the graveyard is for.