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
Muster your courage and explore Framlingham Castle's towering walls behind which Mary Tudor took refuge.
Discover Framlingham Castle's vast and colourful past as it became home to some of the most powerful people in Tudor England, an Elizabethan prison for the troubled, and a sanctuary for the poor in the 17th century.
St George's Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Southwark, which covers the Diocese of Southwark (South London, North Surrey, and Kent), and also the Dioceses of Arundel and Brighton, Portsmouth, and Plymouth.
This medieval hall-house was built in 1308 for the parish priest of the church opposite, and has been little altered since the early 17th century.
Interesting features include the Gothic doorway, magnificent double-height tracery windows and a massive 15th-century stone fireplace.
A medieval Elizabethan manor house, with it’s own moat, plus priest holes and walled gardens to explore. There is also a Visitor Centre in the old Malt House. Audiovisual and interactive displays help bring the history to life.
The world-famous garden, overhung with clipped yews, shelters rare and tender plants. Laid out under the influence of Italian and French styles, it retains its original lead statues and an orangery on the terraces. High on a rock above the terraces, the castle, originally built circa 1200, began life as a medieval fortress.
The Coleraine Collection stems from the town's remarkable history. Coleraine is a town of several firsts - the first known settlement in Ireland at Mountsandel and the first 'planted' town in Ulster.
This exciting new interpretation centre showcases the special qualities which make the Llŷn Peninsula so unique in terms of history, culture and environment.
Come in and explore, learn, reflect and enjoy the natural environment, and get ideas for activities, walks, attractions and things to do on the peninsula.
A large and imposing Scillonian Bronze Age entrance grave, with kerb, inner passage and burial chamber all clearly visible.
This is one of the largest and best preserved of the distinctive burial chambers known as entrance graves.
Dating from about 2000 BC, Porth Hellick is the largest entrance grave in a scattered cemetery that includes six others, and two low cairns.
'This is a delicious house...' remarked Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on her honeymoon at Polesden Lacey. This country retreat, only four miles from Dorking and junction 9 of the M25, has glorious views across the rolling Surrey Hills and acres of countryside. It was home to famous Edwardian hostess Mrs Greville, who entertained royalty and the celebrities of her time.
The National Football Museum houses the greatest collection of football memorabilia, artefacts and archives in the UK.
The Langdon Down Museum of Learning Disability at Normansfield Teddington, was the home and institution developed by the Victorian physician Dr John Langdon Down and his family where a revolutionary and enlightened approach was developed for the care of people with learning disabilities.
Visiting Strawberry Hill is a truly theatrical experience. Magically lit by a unique collection of renaissance glass, its gloomy castle-like hall and grey gothic staircase lead dramatically to the magnificence of the gallery.
Learning through discovery is just one of the reasons to book your group visit to Willows Farm Village.
The official visitors' centre of the Geopark way. Attractions include interactive iPads and wall maps encouraging kids to learn all about the geology, archaeology, history and water of the Malvern Hills. The Cafe stocks a wide range of local food and drink and has free WiFi and parking.
A free museum about the history of Oxford and its people. Families can explore the interactive galleries and come along to monthly family craft workshops in the learning centre to handle real objects.
Museum of Oxford offers fun and interactive galleries for families to explore local history of Oxford and its people; including an interactive touch screen.
Llama trekking in the Peak District is the ideal way to spend a day out with a difference. These graceful animals are the perfect walking companion - not too fast, not too slow and with the added bonus of carrying your excess baggage!
Shropshire based petting farm and zoo with over 150 different species of animal. Indoor and outdoor demonstrations take place daily including lamb feeding, sheep racing; meet the meerkats and egg collecting. The farm also has an indoor and outdoor play area, cafe and gift shop.
Llama trekking is fast becoming a 'must-do' activity. Bond with your llama, get to know him and take him on a walk in the glorious countryside of south west Herefordshire. If travelling from further afield, why not take a two day stay in one of our holiday cottages?
Features
This beautiful 17th century Normandy Château is located in the idyllic fishing village of Criel-sur-Mer, providing the ideal opportunity for young people to immerse themselves in French culture
Just 90 minutes from Calais and 20 minutes from Dieppe, the Château is surprisingly accessible
Some 300 Bronze Age and medieval sites, covering 15 1⁄2 square kilometres (6 square miles) of Dartmoor landscape.
The house was rescued from neglect and lovingly restored by the three Keating sisters, who bought it in 1938.
The views from the grounds and gardens across Cardigan Bay are among the most spectacular in Britain.
Set on the shores of the Menai Strait amidst breathtakingly beautiful scenery, this elegant house was redesigned by James Wyatt in the 18th century.
Explore Ipswich's past with stories that will inspire you. This fascinating and unique museum gives you the opportunity to meet the famous woolly mammoth, the elegant towering giraffe and other wonderful curiosities from the natural world .
Saxtead Green Post Mill is a corn mill, whose whole body revolves on its base and is one of many built in Suffolk from the late 13th century.
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.