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
An intimate family home and peaceful estate set in the rolling hills of the Chilterns.
This picturesque 16th-century mansion and tranquil gardens were home to the Brunner family until recent years. The house exudes a welcoming atmosphere with a well-stocked kitchen and homely living rooms. The series of walled gardens is a colourful patchwork of interest set amid medieval ruins.
Grey Friar’s Chapel is the 13-15th century tower of Kings Lynn’s Franciscan friary. It is one of only three surviving Franciscan monastery towers in England and is considered to be the finest.
Nestling beneath thickly wooded hills alongside the River Tay, Dunkeld has an air of timeless tranquillity. In Cathedral Square and The Cross, the Trust has restored 20 houses, some dating from the rebuilding of the town after the Battle of Dunkeld in 1689.
Tucked away in a tiny hamlet adjoining the National Nature Reserve, the 17th-century Old Town Hall is the only remaining evidence of Newtown's former importance.
It's hard to believe that this tranquil corner of the island once held often turbulent elections before sending two Members to Parliament.
Beautifully constructed 14th-century barn made from local Cotswold stone. Dramatic aisled interior and unusual stone chimney cowling are notable.
Set on a headland high over the popular seaside town, Whitby Abbey is the perfect choice for a great value day trip in Yorkshire. It's easy to see how Bram Stoker was inspired by its gothic splendour when writing Dracula. This is one of the most atmospheric visitor attractions on the Yorkshire coast.
Standing within an attractive village setting, not far from the fantastic Lullingstone Roman Villa, is Eynsford Castle - a very early Norman 'enclosure castle' whose substantial stone walls present a rare survival of this striking and impressive style.
An atmospheric Neolithic burial chamber made of great stone slabs, in the hills above Herefordshire's Golden Valley.
Legend has it that King Arthur slayed a giant at this location. An atmospheric Neolithic burial chamber, made of nine great stone slabs in the hills above Herefordshire's Golden Valley.
Step inside this simply furnished, timber-framed cottage and travel back in time. Lived in continually right up until the mid-1980s, today this 16th-century labourer's dwelling has been restored to bring four hundred years of uninterrupted occupation to life.
The flint-walled 13th-century chapel and hall of a 'Commandery' of Knights Hospitallers, later converted into a farmhouse. It has a remarkable medieval crown post roof and 16th-century ceilings with moulded beams.
Among England's finest country houses, big and stately Apethorpe Palace was begun in the late 15th century. It contains one of the country's most complete Jacobean interiors.
Nearly 350 years ago the community village of Eyam made the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the spread of the deadly plague – their own lives.
To help you explore some of these stories we’ve created a number of walks starting from Eyam Hall. Choose from The Two Survivors, The Three Decisions, The Lone Mother or The Lovers and explore Eyam and the surrounding countryside.
In 1266 King Henry III destroyed one of England’s largest medieval castles. Today, all that remains of Duffield Castle are the foundations, the view and its stories.
The tiny 1 hectare site, nestled within the village of Duffield, Derbyshire is now bounded on all sides by housing and roads, but it is still a place to enjoy, relax in and soak up the history.
Come to Explore the Past at The Hive and touch history on our multi-touch table which showcases the resources we have for you to research and enjoy in the building and which highlights heritage sites throughout Worcestershire.
This classical building designed and built in 1725 by Francis Smith, contains a fine Georgian Ballroom.
It was constructed on a site given by Robert Dudley, in exchange for the buildings now forming the Lord Leycester Hospital.
The building is now the home of Warwick Town Council, the Tourist Information Centre and the Warwickshire Yeomanry Museum.
The romantic ruins of a royal castle overlooking the Essex marshes. Hadleigh was begun in about 1215 by Hubert de Burgh, but extensively refortified by Edward III during the Hundred Years War, becoming a favourite residence of the ageing king.
Enjoy a family guided tour around this historic castle built by Henry VIII. Camber Castle lies between Rye and Winchelsea. The ruin of an unusually unaltered artillery fort designed to guard the port of Rye, and near Battle Abbey.
There are monthly guided walks round Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, including the castle and local farm.
The fine 15th-century gatehouse of a vanished riverside manor house, with a beautiful oriel window. The monuments of the manor's Marmion family owners grace the adjacent church.
Marmion Tower is the entrance to, and the only significant remaining part of, a former manorial complex.
A three-mile section of the great earthwork boundary dyke built along the Anglo-Welsh border by Offa, King of Mercia, probably during the 780s. This especially impressive wooded stretch includes the Devil's Pulpit, with fine views of Tintern Abbey.
Discover more about England's heritage from the English Heritage Archive. We hold over 12 million photographs, plans, drawings, reports and publications on architecture, archaeology, historic buildings and social history.
The ruins of a small 12th-century Norman keep, with panoramic views over the Weald.
Sutton Valence castle was owned by a succession of important medieval lords. The castle was located in a strong position, overlooking the road from Maidstone to Winchelsea, and dominating the Weald of Kent.
History
South and west of Beddgelert lies the wooded foothills and mellow farmland known as Eifionydd. The woodlands of the Vale of Maentwrog are internationally important for their wildlife and the coastline has been sculpted into sweeping sandy or shingle bays.
Find out about the dramatic story of King Charles II hiding from Cromwell’s troops at Moseley Old Hall after he fled the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
See the bed on which the King slept and the priest hole in which he hid, and hear fascinating stories about what life was like in the 17th-century. You can soak up the atmosphere on one of our popular guided tours.
The well-marked remains of a 2nd-century fort with large granaries, probably built under Hadrian's rule to guard the Roman road from Brougham to Ravenglass and act as a supply base.
Covering three acres, the fort was probably built during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (AD 117–38).
Set in tranquil grounds adjoining a riverside village, this rare example of an Elizabethan artillery fort was begun in 1559 and redeveloped in 1599-1601, to protect warships moored at Chatham dockyards. Despite a brave attempt, it entirely failed to do so in 1667, when the Dutch sailed past it to burn or capture the English fleet at anchor.
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.