History tells stories about people, places and things to help explain to young people of any age why the world is as it is as they grow up and begin to question it.
Schools will choose different periods and settings and topics to cove during different Key Stages, but all of them are pretty well guaranteed to be rooted in actual places that can be visited, explored and enjoyed.
It has been a curious fact that for many years primary classes have studied the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, while secondary school syllabuses have been more engaged in post-medieval periods. For a while secondary courses involved a great deal of ‘topic work’. While this discipline still exists, the recent examination syllabuses have returned to an emphasis on historical periods and links.
But all periods and topics provide fantastic opportunities for school visits. We are so lucky that so many general and specialist museums and visitor centres exist in the UK. The problem is not a shortage of possibilities but how one sifts through the available opportunities to make choices.
The Historical Association website carries information about course, conferences, study tours, and the Association has published ‘The Historian’ magazine for many years. Handsam is also happy to help, please contact us on 03332 070737 or email [email protected].
Most venues will have teaching materials and activities geared to students’ different ages and aptitudes whether at primary or secondary level. All of them will set out to develop students’ ability to understand, analyse and evaluate key features and characteristics of historical periods and events studied.
Some venues will be easy to identify because they fit neatly with the period and topic being studied but others may offer new possibilities, not least to the teachers themselves. Teachers need and deserve their own stimulation.
Over the next four years there will be an upsurge in visits to the First World War battlefields. Because of this there will be an increase in companies offering visits and requirement for battlefield guides, especially in northern France and Belgium. There are bound to be discrepancies in guides’ knowledge and experience. Close research into the credentials of the company you are contracting with, and the company’s guarantees about guides, will ensure that your group will not be disappointed.
Main organisations:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Inclusion: NASEN
Thought of visiting?
Roman Vindolanda and Roman Army Museum at Hadrian’s Wall
Viriconium, Wroxeter, Shropshire
The Jorvik Viking Centre, York
Offa’s Dyke Trail and Chirk Castle
The National Trust for Scotland
Clan Donald Visitor Centre, Isle of Skye
Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
Exeter Cathedral Education Centre
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
The Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth
East Anglia Railway Museum, Colchester
The National Tramway Museum, Matlock
The Victoria and Albert Museum offers a huge range of exhibits covering aspects of art and design such as ceramics, fashion and clothing, furniture, gless and jewelry, as well as much much more.
The V&A is free to visit but you need to book in advance for self-directed group visits and for any programmes on offer.
The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment have worked as partners to restore HMS Caroline, a lone survivor of the Battle of Jutland and living legend. With the help of a grant of £11.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) the ship opened to all for the first time in June 2016.
What was HMS Caroline?
The museum is located in a former sail loft and is part of the Nottage Maritime Institute which aims to improve nautical, sailing and navigation skills. There is a fine collection of paintings, personal possessions, photographs and models all with local connections to the River Colne and its fishing, yachting and boat-building heritage.
Housed in the Low Lighthouse, an 1818 construction with commanding views over the harbour and its unending movements, Harwich's Maritime Museum reveals the town's vast maritime history.
A circular fort commanding the eastern side of Harwich port. It was built between 1807 and 1809 to support Landguard Fort on the opposite shore near Felixstowe and to form part of the chain of Martello Tower defences.
With its 500 years of royal history Hampton Court Palace has something to offer everyone. Set in sixty acres of world famous gardens the Palace is a living tapestry of history from Henry VIII to George II.
Start Bay Centre is located above Slapton with stunning views across the Start Bay Coast. Each group has exclusive use of the converted old school. The recently refurbished Centre provides comfortable facilities with a friendly atmosphere. An enclosed garden includes a low ropes course, BBQ area and campfire circle.
Flatford lies in the heart of the beautiful Dedham Vale.
In addition to our two residential centres in Cumbria, FSC has a dedicated team of teaching staff who deliver full or half day courses for schools using the stunning locations found within the Lake District. A typical day begins at 10.00am when one of our teaching staff will meet you at your chosen site.
Preston Montford has been an FSC Field Centre since 1957. It serves a very diverse range of customers of all ages and levels of learning. It has been accredited with Eco-Centre status.
Nettlecombe Court lies in a secluded valley at the eastern edge of Exmoor National Park. The house is a striking example of a Tudor and Georgian country mansion set within its own grounds. The Centre has excellent access to the Somerset coast as well as Exmoor National Park and The Quantocks Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Set in 850 acres of beautiful parkland where 600 deer roam freely, Margam Discovery Centre offers high quality environmental education to all age groups, both residentially and for day visits. The centre is a state of the art low carbon footprint building designed by The Welsh School of Architects.
Occurring on 6th July 1685, the Battle of Sedgemoor lasted barely 5 hours yet it had far-reaching consequences. Why did it occur, who was involved, what happened afterwards? The answers to these and other questions are provided through a series of displays and an interactive kiosk that shows a short film of a Battle re-enactment performed by the Sealed Knot.
Experience learning in the great outdoors with Magdalen. Magdalen Farm with its diverse landscape, animals and purpose-built residential centre provides a safe and secure environment to learn about organic farming, sustainability and nature.
TCBC (The City Break Company) are a specialist educational travel company renowned for visiting some of the more challenging locations across the planet such as Moscow and St Petersburg, Beijing, Istanbul, Krakow (for Auschwitz) and the Baltics.
Ardmore Educational Travel, part of The Ardmore Group, offer over 100 educational school tours in 32 countries. We partner with schools to provide one-off tours, multiple tours or total extra curricular solutions for schools and students aged 11-18.
WorldStrides, formerly Casterbridge Tours, are an educational travel company specialising in customised educational group tours.
The Museum gives a great flavour of the atmosphere during the birth, life and death of this World War II RAF station. Our aim is to show a little of the station life, the aircrews, ground crews, administrators, WAAFS and medical staff who lived, loved, flew, serviced, played, worked and sometimes died at RAF Moreton-in-Marsh.
A wide range of natural and social history exhibits, the more exciting of which include the interactive dinosaur gallery and gardens, and the special family drop in sessions.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs Museum tells the harrowing tale of the Martyrs' arrest, trial and punishment, which led to the foundation of modern day trade unionism.
The English School of Falconry Bird of Prey and Conservation Centre is one of the largest bird of prey centres in the UK, home to over 200 birds of prey, varying in species of owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, hawks,kites and vultures. The centre is committed to the conservation of birds of prey and their habitats.
Hatfield House is the home of the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury and their family. The Estate has been in the Cecil family for 400 years. It is an incredible building with a vast estate to explore.
Education Destination is an Isle of Wight based business specialising in providing bespoke, curriculum-focused school trips to our lovely island. We help you create outstanding curriculum-led learning visits to the Isle of Wight and can provide a full door-to-door service, taking care of all your requirements, or simply support you in making your own arrangements.
20 Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead was the home of Sigmund Freud and his family when they escaped the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. The centrepiece of the museum is Freud's library and study, preserved as it was in his lifetime. It contains his working library, his desk and the famous couch.
Education
York Museums Trust’s award-winning* museums and art gallery offer inspiring, interactive and hands-on learning opportunities that directly support the National Curriculum.
We welcome school groups to York Art Gallery, York Castle Museum and the Yorkshire Museum & Gardens and offer help and advice to parties who wish to visit.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.