Citizenship Studies is concerned with the kind of society we live in and want to influence and develop. It covers, too, the role of the public and private organisations in the process. School courses help prepare students to become active citizens. The best of them promote students’ personal and social development, and make them more self-confident and responsible, in the classroom and beyond.
All external examination courses emphasise developing awareness of the role of citizens in a variety of contexts.
Just about any educational visit will contribute to the students’ exploration of new experiences and new ideas about being a ‘citizen’, but venues and activities that bring students into contact with other communities, other social contexts and other attitudes will be particularly exciting. Many museums and venues specialise in giving hands-on experiences of what some aspects of life in earlier centuries was actually like. These tend to be attractive to primary school groups.
Secondary groups often visit civic centres and attend local council meetings. Both primary and secondary groups will be welcome at churches, chapels, synagogues, mosques and temple, some of which offer programmes of talks and exhibitions. In cities this is relatively easy to arrange but even in rural communities priests and lay church people are prepared to help schools.
The Citizenship Foundation would be an excellent starting point. It claims to help 80% of secondary schools to nurture citizenship, and sets out to inspire young people to contribute to society. The Association for Citizenship Teaching also provides advice and teaching resources, while the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law delivers law and justice education at national heritage sites.
Main organisations:
Association for Citizenship Teaching
National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL)
Inclusion: NASEN
Thought of visiting?
The Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green
National Trust Museum of Childhood, Sudbury, Derbyshire
All creatures great and small waiting to meet you and be picked up and cuddled! Large play areas, bouncy castle, ride on toys and tractors, plus pond walks and ice cream!
Ponies and piglets, slides and bouncy castle, Hawks, and owls, goats and guinea pigs, ducks and bunnies, ride on toys and tractors, ice creams, tea gardens, flower gardens and pond walks.
Sywell Country Park offers meadowland and lakeside walks, with a small arboretum of exotic trees and Edwardian buildings still surviving from its past role as a water supply reservoir with a water works heritage trail to guide you round.
Recreation
The remains of the house of a prosperous Blakeney merchant, with a fine 15th century brick-vaulted undercroft. Later the guildhall of Blakeney’s guild of fish merchants.
A new concept in indoor sensory & soft play activities for children aged between 0-10 years (inclusive). Dedicated sensory area for babies. Soft play structure, trampolines, dressing up costumes, playhouse and various classes for the older children. Stylish and relaxing cafe for the grown ups.
Enjoy the Great Outdoors at Conkers! Take it slow and explore the 120 acres of maturing woodlands, lakes, ponds and play areas - or go wild and take the 18 stage Assault course challenge.
St. Barbe Museum explores the unique history of Lymington and the New Forest Coast.
The colourful, hands-on displays provide a fascinating journey of discovery for all ages, charting Lymington’s development as a market town and port and looking at the smugglers, salt makers and boat builders who have used the Solent shore.
A museum of education in a unique complex of historic classrooms. Children of all ages can dress up in period costume to explore the classrooms, practice their writing in sand trays and on slates, play with Victorian toys and visit the Headmaster’s House to experience Victorian domestic life.
Hands on interactive exhibits on two floors explaining how things are made. Visitors receive a basket of component parts to make up one of ten kits: it's yours to take home.
A visit to the Secret Hills exhibition will reveal some of the stories hidden in the landscape. You can meet their mammoth and pretend what life was like in the Iron Age.
The exhibition's centre-piece, a panoramic film shot from a hot air balloon, lets you look at this stunning area from a unique perspective.
Visit this Leicestershire favourite with great family activities, high quality exhibitions, interactive fun and a few surprises along the way. From planes and trains, mining and engineering, fashion and toys to colliery tours, train rides and science play, there really is something for everyone.
Sitting proudly atop Norman earthworks, Conisbrough Castle is a dominating presence over the local area. Built by Lord Hamelin Plantagenet during the 12th century, Conisbrough’s spectacular magnesian limestone keep is a design unique in Britain.
Discovery Centres are modern, welcoming and friendly with a modern library service at the heart ... with books, information, music, DVDs and talking books for all ages and tastes.
The Gallery @ Gosport Discovery Centre hosts a wide variety of exhibitions and events from shows of the finest local artists to exhibitions drawing on the rich museum collections held by Gosport and Hampshire. It is fast becoming a regional venue for major exhibitions on loan from our national museums and collections.
A series of striking and individual mosaics to act as way-markers on a pleasant 2 mile trail. Keeps kids running about between looking for the next one and giving that pleasure of discovery.
We have used exclusively recycled materials, many of them donated by local people, and hope that the creation of these way-markers will inspire visitors.
With heathlands, woodlands and ponds, Yateley Common offers a variety of experiences to visitors. You can walk, cycle and horse ride through 193 hectares of varied and wildlife rich surroundings. The Common also offers visitors the opportunity to fish, bird watch, and get involved in practical conservation through volunteering.
For a fun-filled day out for all the family, or simply to enjoy the peace and quiet of acres of natural surroundings, take a fascinating journey of discovery through the living world of Plantasia & Mazeworld.
Adventure playground, nature trails, accessible paths, sculpture trail and nature viewing platform. Plus excellent Discovery Packs for hire from the friendly visitor centre including a pond dipping kit and binoculars!
Welcome to The Nature Discovery centre, a visitor centre with beautiful lakes that adjoins Thatcham Reedbeds SSSI nature reserve. Children can explore Cold Ash stream, follow a lakeside walk and enjoy close up experiences with many species of resident and migrating birds.
Considered by many to be the most beautiful lake in Wales, Lake Vyrnwy is tucked away in a landscape of rolling meadows, towering crags, rushing waterfalls, mysterious forest and moorland.
Travel with smoke and steam in splendid Wales.
The line runs from Pant, near Merthyr Tydfil. Travel in one of our all-weather Observation Carriages, behind a vintage steam locomotive, into the Brecon Beacons National Park to see stunning views of the peaks of the Beacons across the Taf Fechan reservoir.
Before the discovery of natural gas in the North Sea, Britain’s gas was made from coal. Fakenham’s gas museum combines industrial archaeology with social and cultural history. It charts the first steps to light up homes and cities at night and to provide heating and domestic appliances. It also pays homage to an industry that between 1800 and 1970 employed over a million people.
Known as the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, is one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court.
Founded in memory of the British film-maker Bill Douglas in 1994, this museum on Exeter University campus contains an enormous collection relating to the history of film and optical entertainment.
Woodlands Outdoor Education Centre is located in the Wye valley on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Black Mountains. The Centre offers a high standard of accommodation and is set within 10 acres of grounds which are developed for a range of activities. Th
The Royal Mint is a national treasure, making beautifully crafted coins and medals for countries all over the world. Over a thousand years of craftsmanship and artistry ensures every piece we strike is a long lasting piece of history.
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.