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
Godrevy's awe-inspiring expanse of sandy beach leads on to wildlife rich headlands and the dramatic coves of the North Cliffs and Western Hill.
Set at the far end of St Ives Bay, Godrevy beach is popular for surfers, families, walkers, nature watchers and those who simply want to sit and admire the view.
The estate is split into four main elements:
Threave House, a restored Scottish baronial-style house;
Threave Garden, made up of landscaped gardens and themed 'rooms';
Threave Sculpture Garden, containing over 30 works by Scottish sculptors; and
Threave Nature Reserve, featuring landscape ranging from wetlands to woodlands.
For fantastic family fun and excitement, enjoy a day at one of the UK's biggest bird gardens, discover a beautiful natural setting of woodland, river and water gardens that are inhabited by over 500 birds, flamingos, pelicans, colourful parrots to laughing kookaburras and magical owls.
A visit here offers a unique nature experience. Walk through two acres of sand dunes only fifty metres from the sea and gain first hand experience of some of the county's most stunning wildlife.
Abbey Green Park is one of four green spaces in North Warwickshire dedicated as Local Nature Reserves.
Abbey Green LNR is situated within the larger Abbey Green Park along its northern boundary. A series of backwater channels connecting to the River Anker intersect the site.
By offering a variety of experiences in the outdoors - from Family Forest Days to Forest School Leadership and from targeted Forest Schools to courses and special events- we engage a wide variety of people, to re-connect them to nature, and infuse them with our passion for the world around us.
Tŷ Mawr Country Park lies on the banks of the River Dee in the beautiful Vale of Llangollen, part of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located adjacent to Cefn Viaduct, built by Thomas Brassey in 1848 to carry the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway across the valley of the River Dee.
Formerly unimproved grazed farmland, this reserve has survived whilst the surrounding area has been built on. With areas of planted woodland, hazel coppice and elm thickets, there is a variety of bird life.
Murlough National Nature Reserve is a fragile 6000 year old sand dune system owned by the National Trust and managed as Ireland’s first Nature Reserve since 1967. It is an excellent area for walking and bird watching due to its spectacular location at the edge of Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains.
Whitnash Brook forms the eastern limit of the built up area of Leamington and Sydenham. It contains a diverse mixture of habitats including the brook, marshy grassland and swamp, woodland, grassland, tall herb and scrub. The site attracts many birds both during the breeding season and at other times of the year and is attractive to many invertebrates.
The New Forest Northern Commons comprise of five commons that we care for. Each one is a unique landscape of woodland, heathland, mire and grassland, shaped by man and nature since the Bronze Age.
Daffern's Wood was declared the first Local Nature Reserve in North Warwickshire on 29th April 2013.
Daffern's Wood is an Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland dating back to 1600 and is irreplaceable. Ancient woodlands are an important habitat for many rare and threatened species of animals and plants. We need to conserve what remains for future generations.
Rockcliffe is one of Scotland's prettiest stretches of coastline. It is perfect for exploring, with a network of paths giving access to most of the area, including the important Dark Age trading post of Mote of Mark.
School visits can be arranged with the Ranger Service.
Discover Godolphin, rich in archaeology and wildlife. Travel back in time as you wander around the 16th-century garden, one of the most important historic gardens in Europe.
Built by the Drydens using the remains of a medieval priory, the house and gardens have survived largely unaltered since 1710 and are presented as they were during the time of Sir Henry Dryden, a Victorian antiquary, passionate about the past.
Open the gate and step into a colourful mosaic of purple, greens and gold. All is quiet apart from the sounds of nature. Visit and discover why Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Faskally Wood is an extensive woodland area within Tay Forest Park on the banks of Loch Dunmore, approximately one mile north west of Pitlochry.
This is the only National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight. It is a beautiful retreat that has something to offer boat owners, walkers, wildlife enthusiasts and historians or just those in search of peace and tranquility.
Frensham Little Pond and Great Pond were originally created in the 13th century, to supply fish to the Bishop of Winchester and his court, whilst visiting Farnham Castle. Today the pond and surrounding area is a sanctuary for wildlife with always something new to see.
A small, mature, mixed broadleaf and conifer woodland oasis in the northern residential suburbs of Warwick, probably originally planted as a shooting wood in the 1920s. Tree species include sweet chestnut, oak, Scots pine and larch with some holly, ash, beech, silver birch and younger elm trees.
A delightful Norman church, displaying one of the most outstandingly complete and well preserved sets of medieval wall paintings in England, dating from the 12th and 14th centuries.
Built in 1701 by Thomas Vernon, a lawyer and whig MP for Worcester, Hanbury Hall is a beautiful country house.
This award winning Museum takes you back through time to explore the story of the Lake District and its inhabitants. Isolated before the arrival of the railway and motorcar, this area developed its own unique customs and traditions.
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.