Arbeia Roman Fort once guarded the entrance to the River Tyne. The excavated remains, stunning reconstructions and finds discovered at the site combine to give a unique insight into life in Roman Britain.
History
History
History tells stories about people, places and things to help explain to young people of any age why the world is as it is as they grow up and begin to question it.
Schools will choose different periods and settings and topics to cove during different Key Stages, but all of them are pretty well guaranteed to be rooted in actual places that can be visited, explored and enjoyed.
It has been a curious fact that for many years primary classes have studied the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, while secondary school syllabuses have been more engaged in post-medieval periods. For a while secondary courses involved a great deal of ‘topic work’. While this discipline still exists, the recent examination syllabuses have returned to an emphasis on historical periods and links.
But all periods and topics provide fantastic opportunities for school visits. We are so lucky that so many general and specialist museums and visitor centres exist in the UK. The problem is not a shortage of possibilities but how one sifts through the available opportunities to make choices.
The Historical Association website carries information about course, conferences, study tours, and the Association has published ‘The Historian’ magazine for many years. Handsam is also happy to help, please contact us on 03332 070737 or email info@schooltripsadvisor.org.uk.
Most venues will have teaching materials and activities geared to students’ different ages and aptitudes whether at primary or secondary level. All of them will set out to develop students’ ability to understand, analyse and evaluate key features and characteristics of historical periods and events studied.
Some venues will be easy to identify because they fit neatly with the period and topic being studied but others may offer new possibilities, not least to the teachers themselves. Teachers need and deserve their own stimulation.
Over the next four years there will be an upsurge in visits to the First World War battlefields. Because of this there will be an increase in companies offering visits and requirement for battlefield guides, especially in northern France and Belgium. There are bound to be discrepancies in guides’ knowledge and experience. Close research into the credentials of the company you are contracting with, and the company’s guarantees about guides, will ensure that your group will not be disappointed.
Main organisations:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Inclusion: NASEN
Thought of visiting?
Roman Vindolanda and Roman Army Museum at Hadrian’s Wall
Viriconium, Wroxeter, Shropshire
The Jorvik Viking Centre, York
Offa’s Dyke Trail and Chirk Castle
The National Trust for Scotland
Clan Donald Visitor Centre, Isle of Skye
Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin
Exeter Cathedral Education Centre
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
The Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth
East Anglia Railway Museum, Colchester
The National Tramway Museum, Matlock
Venues for this Curriculum
The striking chequerboard flint and Caen limestone facade is part of one of the oldest Norman buildings in Sussex
The museum tells the story of Shoreham’s maritime and local history from prehistoric to medieval times.
The only one of its kind open to the public, this beautiful 15th century Wealden hall house stands in a traditional cottage garden on the edge of the Ashdown Forest in picturesque West Hoathly.
Welcome to the largest Roman home in Britain
Imagine the luxury that would once have surrounded the proud owner of this lavish Roman residence. This palace was certainly fit for a king. Stroll around the recreated Roman gardens – the earliest gardens found anywhere in the country – and enjoy the largest collection of mosaics in situ in the UK.
Schools
Travel back in time and meet the past at beautiful Michelham Priory
England’s longest water filled moat surrounds the site which dates back to 1229.
Explore Michelham’s fascinating 800 year history, from its foundation by Augustinian canons, through the destruction caused by the dissolution of the monasteries in Tudor times and into its later life as a country house.
Explore how the Tudors and Elizabethans lived, worked and relaxed at home
Find out about the part played by this beautiful medieval house in the story of one of England’s most famous kings, Henry VIII. Other highlights include the authentically furnished kitchen and the garden which uses traditional plants and Tudor planting schemes.
Education
Discover where the young William Shakespeare courted his future bride Anne Hathaway at her picturesque family home.
The museum is a former town house c1750, visited by Jane Austen.
Andover from prehistoric times to the present day. Enjoy an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions, including art, craft, photography, history and more... visit the museum and then relax in our coffee shop.
School visits to Andover Museum
Iconic merchant house packed with fascinating stories, beautifully told
Set in a handsome Tudor house with 21st century displays, this museum tells the remarkable story of Thetford and the Brecks. Discover rich collections alongside audio guides, films and animations.
Meet local people from Thetford’s past, from the revolutionary philosopher Thomas Paine to the Sikh hero Maharajah Duleep Singh and from rabbit warreners to railway workers.
This prominent vantage point and strategic site was quickly recognised by the Normans, who built a huge timber fortress here by 1100 AD. Originally built by Robert de Toeni, (later known as Robert of Stafford), in the Norman period, Stafford Castle has dominated the local skyline for over 900 years.
The Ancient High House is one of the finest Tudor buildings in the country. Once dominating the skyline of Stafford, it is the largest remaining timber framed town house in England.
Amersham Museum is an award winning museum located in a 15th century building in the heart of old Amersham. It is a hidden gem with a collection spanning 2,000 years of local history.
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre is set in a 36 acre site set in the South Downs National Park.
Loads of displays on different angles of history, spread across 12 interesting rooms and the garden. Join the Junior Almoners' Club for bonus trails and activities.
The Almonry exhibitions span 12 rooms and pretty much the whole of recorded time for the region, from prehistoric displays to Anglo-Saxon burial treasure, through to textile, horticultural and social history.
Our museum building is the oldest in Honiton with an interesting history. Documents show a chapel called Allhallows existed here before 1327. From the 16th century the building was used by Allhallows School until 1938 when the school moved to Rousdon. The chancel of the old chapel is now the Murch Gallery which houses many items of local interest.
An intimate setting for one of the South's most outstanding ceramics collection of English, continental and oriental pottery, porcelain and tiles from 1250 to the present day.
A very rare example of a composite structure, featuring a wooden frame with reed and plaster (visible from within the house), encased in brick.
Ground floor and first floor rooms feature design interventions from Georgian through to Victorian times, whilst the attic floor is virtually untouched since 1611.
Palladian mansion with grand marble hall, porcelain collection and unique Maori meeting house
Clandon Park is one of the country’s most complete examples of a Palladian mansion. Built by a Venetian architect for Lord Onslow in the 1720s, the estate has been passed down through generations of this famous family.
Exceptional Tours, Expertly Delivered
When you choose WST to plan your school tour you’re choosing to travel with the experts. With over 300 combined years of experience, our 2013/14 brochure is packed with tours linked directly to the subjects, study themes and learning outcomes from the National Curriculum, but more than that, our Tour Consultants have an in-depth knowledge of your subject and your chosen destination.
Travel Places offers School Sports and Educational Tours on a different level.
Our friendly and knowledgeable team specialise in tailor-making tours for schools, clubs and associations to suit all levels and abilities from prep schools through to university sides at sporting events worldwide.
Tours Designed offer tailor made itineraries for educational coach travel to destinations throughout Europe.
Attention to detail in planning, implementation and co-ordination of entire programme ensure our clients travel with us year after year.
ABTA bonded
The Old Baptist Chapel is another gem in Tewkesbury’s crown. The chapel, situated on Church Street, started life in the 15th century as a three bay hall house and was later adapted for worship. It is one of the oldest Baptist churches in Britain. The Baptist movement was started by two English men, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, in Holland in 1609.
One architect's vision of the future
This extraordinary early 20th-century country villa is a masterpiece of Modernist design, in the midst of a picturesque woodland garden not far from Esher in Surrey. It was designed by the architect Patrick Gwynne for his family - his father, mother, sister and himself - and completed in the early summer of 1938.
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