Canal cruises offer an opportunity to do just that. Choose between the slow meandering of the motor barge and the sedate drifting of the horse drawn barge. Whichever takes your fancy, we can offer you a great day out.
Schools Visits
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
An incredible underground journey by boat!
Enter the inner world of the underground cave system in the heart of the Peak District National Park and absorb the atmosphere as a watery silence echoes all around you.
Set at the foot of the spectacular Winnat's Pass, high above the village of Castleton, Speedwell Cavern takes you on an incredible underground boat journey.
Most of the Society’s archive is housed, by kind permission of the family of the Boer War hero, General Sir Redvers Buller, at their home, the historic Downes, on the edge of the town. Access to this is by appointment only and material is usually brought to the museum in High Street for examination.
Saint Paul's Cathedral is a cathedral church on the island of St Helena and is part of the Diocese of St Helena. It is located approximately 2 miles south of Jamestown in the district of St Paul's.
The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (or St Mary's Cathedral) is a Roman Catholic church located in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Soaring above the surrounding rooftops, Truro Cathedral is located at the heart of this thriving Cornish city and wonderfully situated in the middle of the Royal Duchy of Cornwall.
We are a vibrant Parish proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Witness, Worship + Service, brimming full of heritage and history, and surrounded by incredibly beautiful countryside. Killarney is famed throughout the world for its scenic treasures! With its stunning mountain range and lakes, it is known as beauty’s home.
Cathedral of Christ the King is a Roman Catholic Cathedral located in the Irish town of Mullingar.
However you approach Letterkenny – from Derry in the east, Gweedore and Glenties in the west, Fanad and Falcarragh in the north or Donegal and Ballybofey in the south – the tall spire of St. Eunan’s Cathedral greets you.
The Cathedral Church of St. Fachtna in the beautiful West Cork town of Rosscarbery stands on a site where Christian worship has been offered for over 1400 years. Here St. Fachtna founded a monastic school in AD 590. Pilgrims and scholars came from near and far and gained for Ross the title "Ross Ailithir" - the wooded headland of the pilgrims.
Dating from 1809 and re-designed in 1839 by renowned architect A.W.Pugin, St Aidan's Cathedral is rich in the history of the region.
The cathedral stands high on the town-land of Latlurcan, visible on all main roads approaching Monaghan town. Monaghan became a cathedral town in the mid 1800's and the plan for a cathedral in Monaghan proposed by Bishop Charles MacNally was accepted on 3rd January 1858.
The cathedral is one of Ireland's most important, yet understated, ecclesiastical sites. It is also Carlow's oldest working building. Nestling in the village of Old Leighlin, the Saint Laserian's is for many an undiscovered gem.
Strabane District Council established its Museum service in 1997. The core of the councils museum collection is formed by "The Dunbar Collection". This is a collection which encompasses several collection areas such as photography, Victoriana, Militaria, fine arts and folklife.
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is the perfect destination for a school tour. With a history dating from the Norman construction of the Cathedral up to the present day, a visit is a fascinating look inside a Medieval Building in daily use.
Welcome to Lisburn Cathedral, where we are building a 21st century community in a beautiful and historic building, that celebrates the God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow!
St. Mary’s Cathedral dominates the landscape of Kilkenny, its great tower being visible from all approaches to the city. It stands as a reminder of the faith and growing confidence of a far off generation – a reminder and much more than a reminder.
Perhaps England's most impressive piece of 18th century defensive architecture, Fort Cumberland was reconstructed in pentagonal form by the Duke of Richmond between 1785 and 1810, and designed to protect Langstone Harbour.
Access is by pre-booked guided tour only.
Southsea beach is nearby.
Topsham Museum is housed in one of a group of late 17th century buildings overlooking the Exe Estuary. Following completion of a stunning new River Gallery, the Museum was 'long-listed' for the Art Fund Prize in 2008.
Discover 2000 years of The Lichfield Story through the Exhibits, Graphics, Displays and AV Presentations. Family and Mouse Hole Trails available for small kids to help keep them interested and moving round.
The Royal Marines Museum depicts history of the Royal Marines from 1664 through to present day. Personal stories of wars, battles and events of great significance, make the history of the Royal Marines comes to life.
The Spring Arts and Heritage Centre programme theatre, music, cinema, visual arts and workshops for all ages. We also have a museum, cafe / shop and craft cabinet.
A great place to relax, enjoy a coffee in the cafe, visit the shop, view some great art, look around the Museum, watch live music, theatre shows and cinema screenings or try out a new activity / workshop.
The most famous lighthouse in the British Isles is probably the Eddystone, built on a small and very dangerous reef 13 miles south south west of Plymouth.
Four famous lighthouses have been built to mark the dangerous Eddystone Reef. The original tower, completed in 1698, was the first lighthouse to be built on a small rock in the open sea.
The museum houses an extensive collection of uniforms, badges, medals and regimental memorabilia covering the history of the Regiment and the campaigns in which it has fought since its formation in 1793.
Pages
Featured Provider
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.
Login/Sign Up
Latest News
Schoolboy Falls From 60ft Cliff on School Trip
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.