Citizenship

Citizenship

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:

Citizenship Foundation 

Association for Citizenship Teaching

National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL)

PSHE Association

Democratic Life

Hansard Society

Inclusion: NASEN

Thought of visiting?

The Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green

National Trust Museum of Childhood, Sudbury, Derbyshire

Museum of Childhood, Edinburgh

The London Museum

The National Archives, Kew

Houses of Parliament

Welsh Assembly

Scottish Parliament

Northern Ireland Assembly

Venues for this Curriculum

A fascinating medieval cob house, containing a cross-passage screen decorated with a painting of St Andrew. See the smoke-blackened timbers. Discover the fascinating history behind the cottage and enjoy the garden with contemporary cob summer house.

Dartmouth Museum is a small, fascinating and interesting museum housed in an atmospheric old merchant's house, built in approximately 1640.

The Valiant Soldier is an amazing place. It is a pub that closed in the 1960's creating a time warp within its walls. It had been a village inn for more than two centuries. but when it closed furniture, pub artefacts and domestic items were simply left where they stood as the last customer walked out.

A dramatic 17th century fortress built to defend the coastline from the Dutch, and keep watch on a recently rebellious town. Still in use by the military today.

The Brixham Heritage Museum and History Society was founded in 1958 for the purpose of recording, saving and displaying the heritage of the historic town and fishing port.

Since 1976, the Museum has been located in what was once the Police Station and Sergeant's House, built 1902.

Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre is a 45,000 square foot indoor attraction that provides a unique opportunity to view our Fairground Heritage in a beautiful rural location. It is a facility unique in the UK, designed to capture the magic of a bygone age through exhibits, vintage engineering and stunning artwork displays - offering a great day out for all the family.

The displays in Dawlish Museum are changed regularly and aim to represent life past and present in the town, for example the acclaimed display of the February storms which severely damaged the railway.

Children as well as adults are catered for and there are activities especially for them.

As the site of officer training for the Royal Navy for over a century, Britannia Royal Naval College in many respects resembles a living museum, not unlike a stately home, in which modern day-to-day life exists in parallel with a rich history and tradition. 

The College is an imposing Edwardian building that stands on Mount Boone overlooking the town of Dartmouth.

Burton Art Gallery & Museum situated in Victoria Park, Bideford, was reopened in May 1994, after a major extension and refurbishment. The new building has three exhibition spaces including a permanent pottery exhibition, a museum, craft gallery, shop, workshop and lecture area, tourist information desk and cafe.

A small collection of artifacts and bones recovered from the caves at Buckfastleigh Devon and interpretation of the geology and speleology of that area.

On our public guided walk you can see our Lime Kilns, 120,000 bone deposits and meet our Greater Horseshoe bats.

Opening in 1898, the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway in North Devon was considered one of the world's most famous and picturesque narrow-gauge railways. Despite its attraction, it closed in September 1935 because of declining passenger numbers.

The Museum of British Surfing has what’s believed to be the largest & most comprehensive public collection in Europe. Our policy with vintage surfboards is to collect at least one example of each British shaper. We also take in foreign-made surfboards if they have an important connection with British surfing.

The Society was formed in February 2000 to further understanding of the geology, occurrence and properties of the ball clays of Devon and Dorset and to preserve the history and heritage of clay production, transport and use. 

Housed in the west wing of the Bishop’s Palace is a modern library and archive facility in which we preserve many thousands of books and documents – most of them rare or unique - and make them available to people.

Ranked among the finest in South West England, Torquay Museum is a journey of discovery for all ages. Experience the sights and sounds of country living as you walk through a reconstructed Devon farmhouse, wonder at the prehistoric artefacts excavated from nearby Kent's Cavern or become an explorer on our interactive trail. 

A treasure trove of models, paintings, photographs and artefacts which tell the story of Salcombe’s links with ships and the sea from ancient times to the Second World War.

There is plenty to amuse and engage younger visitors including tales of local smugglers and pirates as well as dressing-up box in the ‘young sailors corner’.

A glimpse of the museum from Runnymede Gardens, which is situated next to The Landmark Theatre on Ilfracombe's seafront. A fascinating place to visit come rain or shine and one of the best value for money attractions in North Devon.

The remains of the largest castle in Devon, in a stunning setting on a wooded spur above the rushing River Okement. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest as a motte and bailey castle with a stone keep, it was converted into a sumptuous residence in the 14th century by Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, much of whose work survives.

Enjoy Two 235m Zip Wires with Views over Dartmoor National Park.

Plymouth and West Devon Record Office is your one-stop shop for help with family, house and local history research.

The North Devon Maritime Museum offers a fascinating insight into the rich shipbuilding and seafaring history of the area. It is housed in a fine, Georgian Grade II listed building which has been the home of several ship owners and master mariners in the past 200 years and is situated in the picturesque village and sea port of Appledore.

Devon & Cornwall Police's Heritage and Learning Resource contains extensive archives, artworks, photographs, ephemera, equipment and uniforms relating to the history of policing throughout Devon and Cornwall. The earliest items in the collection date from around 1840 and we continue to collect today.

The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is the perfect way to find out more about North Devon. Our collections and displays cover the natural and human history of this beautiful part of the country. Highlights of the Museum include the Tarka Gallery, the Story of North Devon and the Regimental Collection of the Royal Devon Yeomanry.

It’s a day out for the whole family with model/miniature railways and a country park as well as heritage steam and diesel locomotives operating and a host of other attractions. Sometimes you can see special visitors, be it Thomas the Tank Engine, a vintage Steam or historic Diesel Loco.

A visit to Canterbury is not complete without experiencing Chaucer’s famous tales of medieval misadventures at one of the City’s most loved visitor attractions.

Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a bygone era in this fabulous recreation of medieval life; a unique introduction to Canterbury and its famous literary connection.

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