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
Set in over 500 acres of historic deer park, Wollaton Hall is a spectacular Tudor building home to the city's Natural History Museum.
Also see the Industrial Museum, Steam Engine House, Wollaton Visitor Centre and the Yard Gallery, plus exhibitions exploring art and the environment.
A story-telling walking tour all about ghosts! Where they haunt, why they haunt, a bit of gore, some heritage and history - and you might even spot the real ghost who haunts our tours!
Great local museum which celebrates the culture and social history of the people of Lincolnshire from 1750 to the present day. There are a number of exhibits, which illustrate commercial, agricultural, industrial, and domestic life.
The Natural World Centre is a state of the art sustainably designed visitor centre within the beautiful 375 acre Whisby Nature Park, just to the south of Lincoln.
This Iron Age settlement was originally occupied almost 2,000 years ago and is one of the finest examples of such in the country.
Maritime Museum
If you would like to discover more about Hull’s maritime heritage, come and enjoy free admission to the city’s Maritime Museum.
London Stock Exchange is one of the world's oldest stock exchanges and can trace its history back more than 300 years. Starting life in the coffee houses of 17th century London, London Stock Exchange quickly grew to become the City’s most important financial institution.
Find out all about St Neots in this small but fascinating museum. Free entry for local residents.
There is an interesting selction of photographs and objects, plus a number of hands on activities, which the kids will love.
The Historic Dockyard, Chatham is a fully accredited museum and partner in Renaissance South East, the South East Museum hub.
We collect, preserve, study and exhibit objects and material connected with the history of:
The people who worked in, or were associated with, Chatham Dockyard
This ruin of a 12th century castle in the grounds of a mansion, was built as a fortified palace and was in the ownership of the Church until the 16th century. Now a romantic ruin, in the grounds of the New Sherborne Castle, it is a great day out for all ages.
The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences and is located on the University's Downing Site in Downing Street, central Cambridge.
The Dorset History Centre is the archives service and local studies library for Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole. We house Dorset's local archives - from council records to personal collections. Our online catalogue gives access to over 150,000 catalogue entries, with more being added all the time.
Learn all about how cheese is made through a guided tour of a working dairy, and get to try some of it too. Cheese Experience Days offered for those who want to have a go themselves.
A powerful thick-walled round keep dating from around 1200, characteristic of the Welsh Borders, on a large earthen mound within a stonewalled bailey. Set in the beautiful Olchon valley, with magnificent views of the Black Mountains.
Britain's largest dune loch is a joy to visit any time of year. In winter, thousands of wild geese, swans and ducks fly in, including 20 per cent of the world's population of pink-footed geese – it's a sight you'll never forget.
Saltaire Village is near Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It is named after Sir Titus Salt who built a textile mill, known as Salts Mill and this village on the River Aire.
Designed by architects, Lockwood and Mawson, Salts Mill was opened on Sir Titus Salt's 50th birthday, 20 September 1853.
HMS Warrior, launched in 1860, was the pride of Queen Victoria's fleet. Powered by steam and sail, she was Britain's first iron-hulled, armoured warship and the largest, fastest and most powerful ship of her day. Warrior was, in her time, the ultimate deterrent, yet within a few years became obsolete.
The trust has its headquarters in Thorn Park Lodge, Thorn Park, Plymouth. At the lodge is a pharmaceutical library, a collection of materia medica (used in the past for making pharmaceutical preparations) an extensive collection of artefacts and old fashioned proprietary goods.
Wayland's Smithy is an atmospheric historic site situated approximately 2km along the Ridgeway from the Uffington White Horse. A Neolithic chambered long barrow, it was once believed to have been the habitation of the Saxon smith-god Wayland.
The London Film Museum is now the venue for the Bond in Motion Collection, including the famous Lotus Esprit (as a submarine!). This is a chance for movie (and car) fans young and old to see some of the most iconic film vehicles of all time.
Built in a time of dissent and persecution, this unique secluded chapel was designed to look like a farmyard barn in order to avoid being discovered. Built in 1701 and refurbished in 1840, the chapel has a modest interior and a rare open air baptistry in its grounds.
Explore our collections of art, nature and history on display in this beautiful building. Find out about the last billion years of earth’s history, explore the region’s natural wonders and discover more about peoples’ lives, past and present. Entry to the Museum is free.
Schools
This recently re-furbished town museum tells the story of Kings Lynn and west Norfolk. Gleaming display cases are packed with objects from the area’s colourful past including collections of pilgrim’s badges, maritime treasures and a fantastic hoard of Iceni gold coins.
From the tiny clockwork Musical Box to the self playing ‘Mighty Wurlitzer’, the collection embraces an impressive and fascinating array that will enchant most children.
Wide-ranging displays of aircraft, aviation archaeology and more from World War I to the Falklands and Iraq wars.
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.