The elaborately decorated ruins of a 14th century chancel and chapter house (viewable only from the outside), attached to the still operational cathedral-like minster church.
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
The Anaesthesia Heritage Centre at the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland was founded from a donation by A Charles King but has since embraced numerous contributions. The collection encompasses the entire history of anaesthesia, from Morton's demonstration of ether inhalation in 1846 to modern anaesthetic machines and appliances still in use today.
A museum housing the world's largest selection of working vintage computers. It tells the story of computing from the 1940s Colossus computer, which helped the father of computers Alan Turing break the Nazi Enigma Code machine in the Second World War, through the monster mainframes of the 1970s, home computers of the 1980s to the Touchtable of the present.
The Medical and Chirurgical Society of London was founded on 22nd May 1805 with the aim of bringing together physicians and surgeons in order to further scientific, professional and social communication. This body eventually became the Royal Society of Medicine.
Victorian style shop filled with memorabilia of Norwich’s most famous export
Colman’s have been making fine quality mustards in Norfolk for 200 years and this tradition is celebrated in Colman’s Mustard Shop & Museum. Housed in the historic Art Nouveau Royal Arcade near Norwich Market, the shop is a careful replica of a Victorian trade premises.
A castle with a dramatic history
Ashby de la Zouch is an outstanding example of a late medieval castle developed by a single family as its principal seat up until the Civil Wars of the 1640s. It is also significant for the unusual amount of evidence that survives for the surrounding landscape in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Museum of the Order of St John tells a unique and fascinating story — the story of the Order of St John.
Stanhope is the site of a motte and bailey castle, of which no remains are now visible. A fragment of the motte may have survived until the turn of the 20th century.
Galina International Study Tours Ltd is a family-owned company that organises educational study tours across a wide range of curriculum areas. It was founded in 1989.
We offer coach-based, curriculum-relevant study tours designed by Tour Consultants, all of whom have experience in teaching and examining.
The Hunterian Museum in London exhibits collections which have been brought together over four centuries by a cast of colourful characters including the surgeon and anatomist John Hunter (1728-1793).
The South Wales Miners’ Library has an extensive collection of books, journals and audio-visual materials, specifically selected for DACE courses. The South Wales Miners’ Library is designed to meet your study needs.
Welcome to Woburn Abbey which has been the Russell’s family home since the early 17th Century. We hope you will enjoy exploring the beauty and history of The Abbey and its treasures, collected by our ancestors, who were as passionate as we are to share this experience with you.
Romantic 16th-century castle with spectacular views
From a former fort to the holiday home of a wealthy Edwardian bachelor seeking a quiet retreat from London, the idyllic location of Lindisfarne Castle on Holy Island has intrigued and inspired for centuries.
Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first institution in the UK to specialise in the care of the mentally ill. The hospital continues to provide in-patient care as part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and has been based since 1930 in the outer London suburbs.
The Conduit House is part of the monastic waterworks which supplied nearby St Augustine's Abbey.
The remains of this medieval conduit house stand in King’s Park, Canterbury, on a steep west-facing hillside to the east of St Augustine’s Abbey, whose spring water supply it was built to protect.
Great Torrington Heritage Museum and Archive now has a new home, 14, South Street and also the Grade 2* listed property, The Market House, which is just above the Pannier Market.
Find out the origin of the terms:
Shank´s Pony´
Crickets ‘In the Slips’.
‘Money for old rope’.
See:
Specialising in school visits, Great Cressingham offers school children the chance to experience a remarkably detailed recreation of a Victorian School. Wearing period clothing they’ll use slates and dip pens, learn by rote and sing accompanied by a harmonium.
Each year, several special open days offer the general public a chance to enjoy a similar ‘living history’ experience.
Located in Port Sunlight, the historic home of Unilever in the UK, the Unilever archives are amongst the most important collections of business records in the world.
The British Red Cross runs a museum containing a variety of materials from its beginnings in 1870 to its modern activities. The collections include posters, photographs, badges worn by Society members, medals awarded to Society members, medical equipment and fundraising materials and contain a fascinating portrait of our humanitarian work.
Discover one of England's most complete and unusual keeps as you explore every nook and cranny of this 12th century military stronghold, built by Henry II.
Lose yourself in this 800-year-old warren of passageways and secret chambers.
Once a symbol of royal power, this grand residence became home to coastal defences during the Second World War in its life as a radar station.
Discover the history of London and its people.
The Museum of London documents the history of Londonfrom prehistoric to modern times. The museum is located close to the Barbican Centre as part of the striking Barbican complex of buildings created in the 1960s and 1970s as an innovative approach to re-development within a bomb-damaged area of the City of London.
An Educating Experience
Bring your students to Madame Tussauds Las Vegas for an educational and entertaining experience unique to anything else located in the Las Vegas area. With such a rich background, Madame Tussauds Las Vegas provides an educational venue that cannot be recreated in the classroom.
Scotland Street School is a must-see for fans of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and tells the story of education in Scotland from the late 19th century to the late 20th century.
The Ultimate Celebrity Experience
Meet Hollywood’s biggest stars at Madame Tussauds Hollywood, located next to the world-famous TCL Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame.
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