Wall was an important staging post on Watling Street, the Roman military road to North Wales. It provided overnight accommodation for travelling Roman officials and imperial messengers. The foundations of an inn and bathhouse can be seen, and many of the excavated finds are displayed in the on-site museum.
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
Wall section and a surviving piece of turret 2 1⁄2 metres (8.2 feet) high, built by men of the Twentieth Legion.
You can explore the extensive remains of the Roman Fort and the longest continuous remaining stretch of this magnificent World Heritage Site can be seen here. Inside, the exhibition has interesting interactive displays and artefacts, as well as a model of the Wall at its full height.
A mile-long section of the Wall, rebuilt in stone later in Hadrian's reign. It is linked to Birdoswald Roman Fort.
The highest point on the Wall, in rugged country with spectacular views.
A length of Wall with milecastle remains, impressively sited along the Whin Sill, commanding fine views of many prehistoric and later earthworks to the north.
Part of Hadrian’s Wall, Chesters is also the best-preserved Roman cavalry fort in Britain.
You can easily see what life would have been like here at the Empire’s northern outpost as you wander round the officers' quarters and explore the well-preserved baths and steam room.
The remains of a small temple to the native god 'Antenociticus', in the 'vicus' (civilian settlement) which stood outside Benwell fort.
A 15-metre (49 feet) length of narrow Wall on broad foundations, reflecting a change of policy during construction concerning the thickness of the Wall.
Two sites - one amazing day!
Explore the remains and uncovering of an ancient Roman fort. Then visit the Roman Army Museum.
Before, during and after Hadrian's Wall
A fine 914 metre (2,999 feet) stretch of Wall, including two turrets and impressive bridge remains beside the River Irthing. Linked by a bridge to Birdoswald Roman Fort.
History, religious studies, art, architecture, maths, tourism… Winchester Cathedral brings a world of academic subjects to life with our bespoke educational tours and workshops.
The childhood home of Anne Boleyn
Experience 700 years of history at the romantic double-moated 13th century castle once the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and Mother of Elizabeth I.
Discover magnificent award-winning gardens set in 125 acres of glorious grounds. No matter what time of year you visit you are guaranteed a breath-taking display.
Fuel learning across the curriculum with a visit to the National Coal Mining Museum and give your pupils a unique experience they will never forget.
Situated in the Upper Heritage Site of Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth Naval Base Museum Collection is based on support to the fleet (Royal Navy) at Plymouth since the time of Edward I. It includes Naval stores, uniforms, badges, personal kit, Royal Yacht china and ship models.
The Matthew of Bristol, a replica of the English ship that explorer John Cabot used to discover North America in 1497.
Learn about how The Matthew after the voyage's sponsor Bristolian Richard Amerike (not Amerigo Vespucci as is widely believed) in 1507.
Beaumanor Hall is a Victorian country house located in Woodhouse, Leicestershire. Set in 34 acres of idyllic countryside, Beaumanor has been run by Leicestershire County Council since the 1970s and offers a whole range of facilities.
The Imperial War Museum, London has been newly refurbished and now features a vast array of weapons and vehicles as well as a range of exhibitions, including RAF planes, tanks and amphibious vehicles.
Offering tours of the steam pumping engines, rides on London's only narrow gauge railway, education in the Waterworks interactive gallery, and the Splashzone hands on water engineering play lab!
Come and discover the story of London's water supply and witness stationary steam pumping engines in action.
Today’s railway represents 200 years of engineering inspiration, innovation and determination; the work that Network Rail does today is the next chapter in this astounding story.
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We are a small, dedicated team of 20, resident in Costa Rica with our head office and a warehouse based in the capital, San Jose, two camps bordering the Pacuare River and our rafting warehouse nearby at Guayacan. We design, organize and run multi-activity travel within Costa Rica, Panama and nearby Nicaragua and are expanding to include other Central American countries.
Medieval Norwich comes alive here
Dragon Hall is a beautiful, Grade 1 listed medieval trading hall, renowned for its spectacular timber crown-post roof and intricately carved and painted dragon.
Built by a Norwich merchant with an international trading empire, Dragon Hall dates from a time when Norwich was England’s second city. In its heyday it would have been filled with wool, cloth, timber, spices and pottery.
Welcome to Bath's art museum for everyone. We are open daily 10am to 5pm (Sunday and Bank Holiday 11am to 5pm). Admission to our permanent collection, as well as to many temporary displays, is free.
Stokesay Castle is quite simply the finest and best preserved fortified medieval manor house in England. Set in peaceful countryside near the Welsh border, the castle, timber-framed gatehouse and parish church form an unforgettably picturesque group.
Felixstowe Museum houses 14 galleries displaying the military and social history of this popular seaside resort. Even the building is of historical interest as it was once a submarine mining establishment.
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