Hagley Hall is a Grade I listed 18th-century house in Hagley, Worcestershire. It was the creation of George, 1st Lord Lyttelton, secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters and briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer.
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
An Elizabethan gem in the heart of industrial Lancashire
Affectionately referred to as the ‘Downton of the North’, Gawthorpe Hall was redesigned in the 1850s by Sir Charles Barry, designer of the Houses of Parliament and the ‘real’ Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle.
True's Yard is built around the last surviving cottages in King's Lynn’s once thriving North End community. The tiny, carefully recreated rooms capture the harsh realities of fishing life and the traditions and spirit of a close-knit community.
The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house, which displays the wonderful works of art collected in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. It was bequeathed to the British nation by Sir Richard's widow, Lady Wallace, in 1897.
The Cathedral of St, Mary & St Anne, known locally as the North Cathedral is located at the top of Shandon Street, in one of the most historic areas of Cork. The Cathedral is the principal church of the diocese of Cork & Ross and is the place where major diocesan celebrations take place. The Cathedral was dedicated in 1808 and celebrated its bicentenary in 2008.
Clonfert Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in the Irish town of Clonfert in County Galway.
Explore the fascinating remnants of one of the great monastic foundations of the Middle Ages at this important site, based in the historic market town of Waltham Abbey.
Chester Castle was founded by William the Conqueror in 1070 and became the administrative centre of the Earldom of Chester. The first earth and timber ‘motte and bailey’ castle probably only occupied the area of the inner bailey. In the twelfth century it was rebuilt in stone and the outer bailey added.
Frigidarium, tepidarium, caldarium and natatio. Sounds like one of Harry Potter’s spells! In fact, they describe the wide range of facilities on offer to the Second Augustan Legion and other residents at their state-of-the-art leisure complex. We are talking heated changing rooms, a series of cold and warm baths, covered exercise rooms and even an open-air swimming pool.
The Abbey is set in 37 acres of beautifully peaceful parkland in the centre of the ancient market town of Glastonbury. It is traditionally the first Christian sanctuary in Great Britain, visited, so legend has it, by Joseph of Arimathea and Saints David & Patrick.
For a memorable day out in Sussex explore Battle Abbey and Battlefield, the site of the 1066 Battle of Hastings. Discover more about the most famous date in English history while walking in the steps of King Harold and William the Conqueror.
This fascinating tourist attraction is home to over 2,800 burials dating from Anglo-Saxon to Victorian times. Located in North Lincolnshire, St Peter’s Church is both an archaeological and architectural treasure trove waiting for you to discover.
Galway Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora. The word "cathedral" is derived from the Greek "kathedra", meaning a seat; and indeed this seat is to be found within the sanctuary of the Cathedral.
An educational trip to Wells Cathedral will inform and inspire. Enhance your pupils understanding of special places, inspirational buildings, historical events and Christian theology by bringing your pupils to Wells Cathedral.
A Programmed Day
In Aberdeen on 14 November 1784 Samuel Seabury of Connecticut was consecrated Bishop for America, the first Bishop outside the British isles of what we now call the Anglican Communion. A plaque in the Quadrangle of Marischal College commemorates this notable event.
Fragments of the church and monastic buildings of the first Cistercian abbey in England, founded in 1128.
The ruins of Waverley Abbey are situated in a peaceful loop of the River Wey, and still give an impression of the solitude experienced by the monks who founded a monastery here almost 900 years ago.
St Anne's Cathedral has stood for over 100 years as a place of Christian worship in the heart of the City of Belfast. Probably the most important visual art in the Cathedral are the mosaics (seven years work by two sisters Gertrude and Margaret Martin), the carved stonework (sculpted by Rosamond Praeger, Morris Harding and Esmond Burton), the many fine stained glass windows, the carefully sourc
Prominent hill overlooking the Isle of Avalon, Glastonbury and Somerset
This iconic and evocative landmark offers magnificent views of the Somerset Levels, Dorset, Wiltshire and Wales.
Steeped in history and legend, excavations at the top of the Tor have revealed the plans of two superimposed churches of St Michael, of which only a 15th-century tower remains.
A centre of learning offering education in a number of different ways
We have an Education and Pilgrimage centre, Ty'r Pererin, which was officially opened on 4 March 2013. Click here for more information about the new centre.
Visit our amazing museums in the midst of the stunning English Riviera, a UNESCO Global Geopark
Since its foundation in 1196, Torre Abbey has witnessed, survived and even played a role in some epic moments of history. It's one of the best buildings in the country for the story of Catholicism.
North Down Museum tells the story of the North Down area from the Bronze Age to the present day, each exhibition is dedicated to a particular era of local history. Key artefacts on display include the Bronze Age Ballycroghan Swords, the Bangor Bell from the important Bangor Abbey settlement and the Raven Maps, the only complete folio of Plantation era maps in Ireland.
The Cathedral Church of Saint Joseph – also known as St Joseph's Cathedral or Swansea Cathedral – is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Swansea
Our full title is “The Cathedral Church of St Mary in Edinburgh”. Ever since the earliest times, the Christian Church has been divided into geographical areas known as dioceses. Every Diocese has its own Bishop, whose duty it is to teach, lead and care for the clergy and people of the Diocese, acting as Christ’s primary representative to them
The Cathedral has been the Mother Church of the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin since it was built in 1833. It is also the parish church of the Cathedral Parish, the place where people gather to celebrate liturgies, to worship, and to share the joys and sorrows of the Christian community.
Visit one of England’s loveliest cathedrals with medieval cloisters, royal tombs, and an ancient crypt to explore. Guided tours available, including one to the top of the tower. Free to visit, but there is a charge for the tours.
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