This elegant country manor and tranquil garden sit so harmoniously within the landscape that one cannot exist without the other.
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
A romantic house and gallery set in beautiful riverside gardens
Ancient trees, bubbling brooks and rolling lawns frame this lovely old house. Crafted from a medieval priory, it is full of surprises, with art that intrigues and delights. Come back throughout the year to see different exhibitions in the gallery and the latest installations by our artists in residence.
The Pass of Killiecrankie is a magnificent wooded gorge with the River Garry flowing along its base.
The Battle of Killiecrankie, the major event in the first of the Jacobite uprisings, was fought nearby. The Visitor Centre, on the east side of the Pass, tells both the story of the rich natural history of the Pass and the story of the battle.
Experience a day in the life of the Stuart monarchs at Falkland Palace, their country residence for 200 years - and a favourite place of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Falkland Palace has a large Living History programme for schools, based around Mary, Queen of Scots. The programme, which is aimed at Primary children, includes costumed guides, role playing and Burgh tours.
Far-reaching views of rolling valleys and hills
Cherhill Down is well known for its White Horse and views of the Lansdowne Monument, which can be seen for miles around.
Walk to the top of the Down and be rewarded with great views. In the summer enjoy carpets of chalk grassland flowers and the sound of skylarks.
World Primate Centre
Twycross Zoo has been providing the exciting opportunity to get close to wildlife for over 50 years and has achieved well-respected status as one of Britain's major zoos, attracting half a million visitors each year.
Delightful medieval manor house, set in woodland and meadows
Unspoilt and fascinating medieval manor house, still a relaxed family home. Wander through rooms untouched by time, warm yourself by the open fire, and unwind in the tranquil garden.
Located in a green haven of riverside meadows and woodland hidden away in the heart of the town.
The Famous Dartmoor Waterfall
No visit to Devon would be complete without a visit to Dartmoor's famous Becky Falls, where we've been welcoming visitors since 1903. The falls are an iconic Dartmoor landmark, and a day out here can be as gentle or as adventurous as you wish. All of our activities and shows are included in the entry price, so there are no extras to pay once you're inside.
Belfast Zoo is home to more than 1,000 animals and 150 species. Many of our animals are under threat in their natural habitat.
Some of the animals you can see include:
Isleham Priory Church is the best example in England of a small Norman Benedictine priory church, surviving in a surprisingly unaltered state despite later conversion into a barn.
This small Norman chapel is the best example in the country of a small Benedictine priory church that has remained substantially unaltered.
Charming 15th-century manor house with Arts and Crafts garden
This beautiful medieval manor sits in peaceful countryside. Cross the upper moat, passing barns, gatehouse and delightful parish church to enjoy fine oriel windows and the soldiers, griffons and monkey adorning the rooftops.
Romantic gardens offer terraces, topiary houses, gazebo, lily pond, roses and views across the spring-fed fishpond.
In the footsteps of giants...
Flanked by the wild North Atlantic Ocean and a landscape of dramatic cliffs, for centuries the Giant’s Causeway has inspired artists, stirred scientific debate and captured the imagination of all who see it. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Broughton Castle is a moated and fortified manor house near Banbury in North Oxfordshire.
A world famous museum telling the story of the people of North East England during the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian periods.
The story of Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian life is told by our costumed staff and volunteers in a unique living and working museum which hosts over 300,000 objects.
Nestling in 300 acres of countryside, Beamish boasts a railway station, a farm, a mill, a colliery village and police and fire stations.
Stoke-on-Trent is world famous for its pottery and no visit to the city would be complete without experiencing this unique Museum.
Discover how bone china tableware was made in the original workshops and giant bottle kilns of the former Gladstone China Works, now preserved as the last complete Victorian Pottery factory in the country.
Towering above the sea, this historic headland offers dramatic, panoramic views
The Dodman is the highest headland on the south Cornish coast. Offering spectacular views, this area is also of great archaeological interest.
A massive Iron Age earthwork, nearly 666m long and over 6m high, encloses the headland. Over 2,000 years ago, this earthwork could have housed a series of dwellings, known collectively as a promontory fort or cliff castle.
Cumbria's most famous residents
Includes sheep, cattle, dogs and geese. Large shop with sheepskin rugs, sheepy gifts, clothing, books etc
Come indoors and be enthralled & educated in our unique farm show. Includes sheep, cattle, dogs and geese. Large shop with sheepskin rugs, sheepy gifts, clothing, books etc. Our cafe serves hot meals & snacks. Licensed bar. Lots of free parking.
Greenbank House and its walled garden were built for Robert Allason in the 1760s. In 1962, the estate was purchased by William Blyth, who set to work transforming the garden into the design you see today. In 1976, William gifted Greenbank House and Garden to the NTS.
'The loveliest place in the world'
Take this extraordinary glimpse into the beloved holiday home of the famous and much-loved author Agatha Christie and her family.
The Grant Museum of Zoology is the only remaining university zoological museum in London. It houses around 67,000 specimens, covering the whole Animal Kingdom.
Northamptonshire's heritage jewel
Chester Farm is an archaeologically and historically important site covering 34 hectares, which includes a large area designated as a Scheduled Monument and a complex of Grade II and Grade II* listed buildings.
The site is not currently open to the public so please do not visit unless by appointment.
Where can you do all these things in one day?
Wander wistfully through a wildflower meadow? Travel the world through Africa and China with the Gascoigne family? Come face-to-face with exotic feathery friends? Imagine yourself living in a grand Edwardian house? And enjoy a picnic while watching a herd of deer?
Lotherton Estate, of course!
The ruins of an 11th century and later church built within the earthworks of a Norman motte and bailey castle, with a Victorian church nearby.
The curious name of this place originates in the late 11th century, when the district of Yedeven was divided between the Loges and Ralph families, hence the present names of the parishes of Edvin Loach and Edvin Ralph.
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