Opening Times

Throughout the year but booking (at least 2 weeks in advance) essential

What makes this a great venue for School group Fun or Educational Visits?

Iron Age settlements, Roman forts, medieval abbeys, Tudor castles, even a Cold War bunker – you name it, all 400 English Heritage sites offer exceptional out of the classroom learning opportunities FREE OF CHARGE to educational groups. We also offer reasonably charged Discovery Visits at 60 key sites throughout the country. These are award-winning, fun, expert-led, site based interactive learning activities. Free teaching resources, property familiarisation visits and hazard information are also available.

What are the Curriculum Topics or Benefit to the students from a visit?

Teacher-led projects can be as cross-curricular as you like. Pupils can learn a wealth of information and cover a huge range of subjects – they can simply have fun exploring or be inspired to feel, write, think and record things, helping with Maths, Science, Art, Technology and many more. Discovery Visits have been specially designed to meet national curriculum learning needs across a range of subjects and key stages. They suit a range of learning styles, incorporate group discussion and individual work, encourage active participation, introduce new vocabulary, develop skills of enquiry and use primary evidence.

What are the activities?

Discovery Visits are hands-on and interactive tours and activities that range from sessions covering all periods of History (e.g. meet medieval and Roman soldiers, unravel the Civil War, etc KS 1- 4), to the study the business of heritage and tourism (KS 4 -6), Design & Technology (eg KS 2 Science challenge) and Art and design (eg KS 2 Apsley art for sketchbook skills).

What is the age range of the activities?

5 years – university

Sample programme of the activities:

Please see our website www.english-heritage.org.uk/education or click on the "more information" link in the EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES box on the RH side.

What materials to you provide or suggest groups bring to support the visit?

Teacher’s kits (downloadable from our website) are provided for most sites. These include site plans, useful pre- and post-visit learning ideas, etc. Some sites also have education rooms, handling collections, artist’s impressions, costumes and/or story bags, etc. Heritage Learning magazine – full of topical teaching ideas - is also available free of charge to teachers twice a year.

What are the minimum and maximum group sizes and the free Teacher Ratio?

The ratio of adults to children is 1:6 for years up to year 3 (8 years and under) and 1:15 for all other groups.

Do you have or how do you arrange risk assessment?

Risk assessments are covered for Discovery Visits. For teacher-led projects hazard warning sheets are available for each site, helping to make the legal requirement of risk assessments for free visits easy to meet.

Do you offer Teacher familiarisation days?

Yes – these are encouraged and free of charge. Simply show your site permit to site staff on arrival at the site.

What facilities are there for school groups for food and drink, shop etc?

Many sites have lunch rooms or lunch areas, cafes and a shop selling a range of goods like sweets and pens from under £1 to more expensive items like costumes. Goody bags may be pre-ordered at some sites.

Is specific clothing required?

Visits are likely to involve a fair amount of walking on uneven ground. Stout walking shoes are recommended in all seasons. Some sites are in fairly exposed areas and may have limited cover so warm, waterproof clothing is also recommended. In hot weather sun cream, sunhats and bottles of water are useful.

Do you have first aid on site?

First aid boxes are available at all properties and most have first aider's.

Are there any restrictions on photos, copyright etc?

Children are encouraged to take photos, describe, draw or otherwise record their trips. We hope to set up a children and student’s club on the education website where such items can be posted before too long.
Please email any material to: lucia.crothall@english-heritage.org.uk

Additional information.

All visits should be booked in advance either on-line or via the appropriate regional office.
Regional Discovery Visit maps/guides
Discovery Visit maps/guides are available for the South, East, West and North of England. Printed versions have been posted to all schools on our database and may be ordered by emailing educationmarketing@english-heritage.org.uk with your name and full postal address. You may also download digital versions from our website by clicking the "more Information" link in the OTHER INFORMATION box on the RH side.