What is it?
A workshop is a brief but intensive event focused on a specific topic, with the aim to vastly improve skills or knowledge in a short space of time.
What does it involve?
Workshops can revolve around almost any topic, but the basics generally concern themselves with achieving a target or a setting a problem for the group to solve. The leader of a workshop is usually an expert in the set area, and provides the plan for the session and guides the participants though.
Why do it and what are the benefits?
Attending a workshop can be great for really engaging students in a subject they may not have had an interest in beforehand! Setting a short term target, encouraging teamwork and the promise of a rewarding outcome can all really involve students in workshop activities, and increase their enjoyment of a topic while improving their abilities.
What equipment do we need?
Workshops do generally need some equipment, but if you're using an activity provider they will probably supply everything you need - make sure to check beforehand if you need to bring anything.
Who is it suitable for?
Generally suitable for all ages as the topic and complexity can be varied to fit all needs!
Costs?
The costs of a workshop will depend on whats involved in it and if you have to pay for supplies, but the general price per student shouldn't be too high.
Issues/Things to think about? (unsuitable for age groups, medical conditions etc)
Make sure to tailor the workshop to the students, and not vice versa - this activity can be incredibly effective if utilized in the right manner, and you should be certain that you can get the most out of the session.
How do we include?
As long as you make sure the workshop is the right one for your group, it should be easy to include everyone! The main component of a workshop is engaging with what's going on around you, and if the fellow particpants are familar to those with disabilties it should be easy to make sure everyone has a good time.
Doing it abroad?
Workshops can be found all around the world in varying forms - most popular museums will have some kind of activity available to learn more about the topic of interest.
Main website:
Consult individual websites to see what activities a venue can provide.
It was in this house that Thomas Carlyle, the great Scottish social historian and one of Britain's most influential writers and thinkers, was born in 1795.
Many of Carlyle's belongings are still in situ, along with domestic items of the time, providing an authentic glimpse into Victorian life and a fascinating insight into Thomas Carlyle's early years.
Kinver's woodland sandstone ridge offers dramatic views across surrounding counties and miles of heathland walking country. The famous Holy Austin Rock Houses, which were inhabited until the 1950s, are open to visitors at selected times.
Learning
The 'last castle to be built in England', set above the Teign Gorge with dramatic views over Dartmoor.
Commissioned by retail tycoon Julius Drewe, and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the castle harks back to a romantic past, while its brilliant design heralds the modern era.
Stuffed to the turrets with antique furniture, paintings and ceramics, the legacy of generations of Clan Brodie, this 16th-century castle is a slice of Scottish history not to be missed.
This fairytale castle, a fine example of Scottish Baronial architecture, seems to have grown naturally out of the rolling hills. The great tower stands just as it did when completed in 1626. The castle is home to a fine collection of family portraits and original plaster ceilings.
Chartwell was the much-loved Churchill family home and the place from which Sir Winston drew inspiration from 1924 until the end of his life.
High on a hill in Helensburgh, overlooking the River Clyde, sits what is universally regarded as Charles Rennie Mackintosh's finest domestic creation.
Education visits can be arranged. Morning visits can last from 1.5 to 2 hours. Morning visits are available for pre-booked groups by phoning or e-mailing the Hill House.
The Castle of Exeter stands atop the highest part of the city, within the north-east angle of the city walls. From the reddish colour of the volcanic rock on which it stood, it became known locally as Rougemont Castle.
Hidden away in the rural idyll of East Linton resides an architectural oddity beloved by artists and photographers.
Preston Mill, with its distinctive Dutch style conical-roof, was East Lothian's last working water mill.
Cotehele was the ancestral home to the Edgcumbe family for centuries. The Tudor house, perched high above the River Tamar, is decorated with tapestries, arms and armour, pewter, brass and old oak furniture. The interior tour has changed little over the years, although the furnishings were titivated as Cotehele continued to inspire its adoring owners.
Set high on the rugged North Cornwall coast, visitors can enjoy dramatic sea views from the castle ruins on the headland and island. Steeped in myths and mystery, this is a spectacular place which has inspired artists and writers throughout history who have associated it with the legend of King Arthur and the story of Tristan and Isolde (Yseult).
Explore Kingston Lacy, a lavish family home built to resemble an Italian Palace.
There’s plenty to see, from grand, beautifully detailed carvings, to intimate family souvenirs and even strange curiosities such as an ‘I owe you’ note from a king.
Castle Fraser is an atmospheric baronial castle dating back to the 15th century and was the ancestral home of the Fraser family. School trips can be arranged over the phone at any time of the year. If the tour is arranged out of season there will be a small fee to cover the cost of staff.
The Bowes Museum is a hidden treasure, a jewel in the heart of beautiful Teesdale. The magnificent building stands proud in the historic market town of Barnard Castle housing internationally significant collections of fine and decorative arts. Purpose built in the 19th century by John and Joséphine Bowes, the Museum has a wonderful story to tell.
Step back in time to the 1920s and discover how a grocer's family lived in a Midlands market town through their furnishings and household objects.
Inextricably linked with the most powerful and ambitious men and women of the medieval period, the castle's history reads like a medieval who's who, full of murder, marriages of convenience, double crossing and devious alliances.
The 14th-century tower known as Dalton Castle was formerly the manorial courthouse of Furness Abbey. Here the abbott exercised his right to hold manorial courts and administer justice within the lordship of Furness, as authorised by the abbey's foundation charter of 1127.
The British Library is a treasure trove of the written word, housing just about every famous manuscript you can think of.
Here you can find:
The Gutenburg Bible
Caxton's Chaucer
Shakespeare's Quartos
Magna Carta
Lindisfarne Gospels
Captain Scott's Diary
Get your hands inky at this living museum of a thriving printing firm in the Borders, whose premises were more or less unchanged for over a century.
Try your hand at being a printer's apprentice to learn the almost forgotten art of letterpress printing and typesetting.
Schools are welcomed and visits are very much tailored to suit the needs and requirements of the school.
This beautifully conserved dwelling and byre in Glen Lochay, near Killin, offers a unique insight into rural life in 19th-century and early 20th century Scotland.
There are 5 jointed and pegged cruck couples, two of which can be viewed easily in the byre end of the house.
Discover 300 years of Scottish history through this magnificent and carefully conserved neo-Palladian villa. Newhailes is famed for having some of the finest rococo interiors in Scotland.
Learning Officer and Ranger Service available. Your visit duration and content can be tailored to individual school's needs.
Spanning nine acres of land on its rocky plateau high above the Northumberland coastline, Bamburgh is one of the largest inhabited castles in the country.
Dramatically sited on a wooded hill, a castle has existed here since at least Norman times, with an impressive medieval gatehouse and ruined tower giving a reminder of its turbulent history.
The castle that you see today became a lavish country home during the 19th century for the Luttrell family, who lived here for 600 years.
The Natural History Museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.
This restored historic 18th-century cottage near Glasgow vividly recreates the living and working conditions of a typical handloom weaver. See how a traditional tartan was made 200 years ago, completely by hand using original equipment in a unique setting.
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.