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
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.
We deliver tailor-made programmes to Early Years, Key Stage 1 and 2 in our pond, meadow and woodland habitats. The Haven Plotland Museum provides pupils with a unique insight into home life in the past and during World War 2.
EYFS:
Exploring Senses, Pond Power, Go on a Bug Hunt, Teddy Bears Picnic, Natural Art
Key Stage 1:
Wide-ranging displays of aircraft, aviation archaeology and more from World War I to the Falklands and Iraq wars.
Liverpool Cathedral welcomes thousands of children and young adults each year who come either on school visits or with their friends and family.
A most unusual living museum, where amongst other things you can watch troopers working with horses in the original 18th century stables through a huge glass partition.
Through a large glazed partition you can see troopers working with horses in the original 18th century stables.
Explore London's connections with the rest of the world through an epic 2,000-year story of trade, expansion and immigration.
This charming well-house, built about 1500, stands over an ancient spring, believed to cure whooping cough.
Built by the Augustinian canons of nearby St Germans priory, it houses the remains of an immersion pool for cure-seekers.
White Castle is the best preserved of the Three Castles, namely, White, Skenfrith and Grosmont. The heart of this castle is surrounded by powerful round towers.
The Three Castles are usually grouped together because for a large part of their history they were part of a block of territory under the control of a single lord, Hubert de Burgh.
Coldharbour Mill, built in 1799 as the first Spinning Mill in the South West, preserves a collection of Victorian Spinning Frames for the Worsted process & Hattersley Looms, still in use to produce Knitting Yarns, Tartan Cloth and Stair Runners.
Fairytale Georgian castle in magical surroundings, with Deer Park, Lake and Arboretum, Children's Adventure Playground and Assault Course, Knight's Maze and Burma Bridge Tree Top Walkway.
Inside this family home you'll find richly decorated Gothic interiors, Fine Art, Armour and much more.
Time really does stand still at Brodsworth Hall, one of the most unusual visitor attractions in South Yorkshire.
The ruins of a substantial early medieval moated manor house, built in local flint: a rare surviving example of a grand 12th century manor house, and a typical example of an East Anglian 'great house'.
Life at Crich Tramway Village is rich and varied and is illustrated by the wide range of events and special occasions we hold throughout the year.
Our recreations of the 1940s and Edwardian Era all add their own unique atmosphere to Crich Tramway Village, as you are transported back in time.
Crownhill Fort was built in 1872 as the centrepiece of Plymouth's North Eastern Defences. Designed to protect the Dockyard from a landward invasion, advances in artillery soon made the Fort obsolete.
Now owned by The Landmark Trust, the Fort is home to 15 small businesses, a holiday apartment, event spaces and an Education Centre.
This ancient stone bridge - originally 'gallows bridge'- once carried packhorses bringing fleeces to Dunster market.
The medieval wool trade
In the Middle Ages wool was England’s chief export, and the source of much of the country’s wealth. axes on wool exports paid for Edward I’s conquest of Wales and his near conquest of Scotland.
he Nelson Monument was built in memory of Admiral Lord Nelson, who died at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Weather permitting, the Trafalgar flag signal 'England expects that every man will do his duty' is still flown on Trafalgar Day (21 October).
Step back in time in and uncover a way of life from 100 years ago. Discover cottages, farms, schools and shops as you wander through the beautiful parkland of the Folk Museum chatting to costumed visitor guides demonstrating traditional crafts.
See how people lived through time - what they wore, the toys they played with and how they managed their household chores. Find out about the history of the house, the landscaping of its estate and enjoy the beautiful Picture Room. Free entry.
Our exhibitions include Dolls, Art, Victorian School Room, Costume and Bristol at School.
Corsham Court is one of England's finest stately homes and is based upon an Elizabethan Manor dating from 1582. The interiors are laid out as a suite of magnificent Georgian Staterooms, the work of leading 18th and 19th Century architects. Their brief was to properly display the famous Methuen/Sanford art collection featuring Old Masters by Van Dyck, Carlo Dolci and Lippi.
M33 is one of only three British First World War warships to survive and funding is being sought to open her to the public for the first time.
Take the time to follow in the footsteps of author J.R.R. Tolkien, and see the sights that inspired his creation of Middle Earth.
Birmingham:
Housed on three floors in a 19th century granary building in the centre of Okehampton, the museum tells the story of how people have lived, worked and played on and around Dartmoor through the centuries. It shows how the moors have shaped their lives just as their work has shaped the moorland.
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.