Key Stage 3 (12-14)

Key Stage 3 (12-14)

At Key Stage 3 (KS3) the History curriculum includes a large span of British and world history, and there are few schools that are more than a couple of hours from a venue that will enhance pupils’ historical study. Local religious centres and town halls will be a good start for the study of ‘church, state and society in Britain’, but we would encourage schools to look at the Houses of Parliament and the Welsh Assembly as candidates for possible visits - both of whom offer tailored services to schools.

Visits to the foreign 1914-18 WWI sites are firm school favourites already, and are likely to be doubly popular in the next four years. Many schools combine the history element with some linguistic extras to develop pupils’ ability to ‘speak coherently and confidently, with increasingly accurate pronunciation and intonation.’

In regards to drama and music, many pupils will have been to plays and musicals before the age of 11, but KS3 theatre visits will encourage interest in the subjects and develop the national requirement for ‘a deepening understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history.’

The KS3 curriculum requires schools to develop pupils’ adventurous spirits, using group activities to encourage pupils to ‘take part in outdoor and adventurous activities which present intellectual and physical challenges.’ Many national providers specialise in this area, providing imaginative activities for all kinds of age and ability groups, with a large number tailoring activities for those with special educational needs and disabled pupils.

Suitable Venues

Visit one of Scotland's most impressive ruined castles

Visit Dunnottar Castle for an unforgettable experience. A dramatic and evocative ruined cliff top fortress in a truly stunning setting. 

Eureka! is a unique place for families and groups to visit, where children aged 0 to 11 are inspired to learn all about themselves and the world around them by playing, imagining, experimenting and – above all – having fun, with the caring grown-ups in their lives.

The park occupies the site of an old manor house that fell into terminal decline after the war and was demolished in 1959. Fortunately, the park has continued in use and has become one of the best parks within the region. The park occupies around eight hectares with a large number of facilities on site.

Swinton Druids Temple is neither a temple nor built by Druids. In fact it was built circa 1820 by nobleman William Danby, a very different kind of folly.

House of Marbles are makers & purveyors of a world famous range of glass marbles, board games, classic toys, puzzles, pastimes & decorative accessories for the home and garden. We have been designing, making and selling fun and entertaining products since 1973, when our founder began making board games in his workshop to sell at local craft fairs.

Beadlam Roman Villa is a Roman villa situated on the east bank of the river Riccal in the North Yorkshire district of Ryedale between Helmsley and the village of Beadlam. The Scheduled Ancient Monument is the remains of a large Romano-British farm built in the third and fourth centuries AD.

Thornborough Henges are three neolithic sites where standing stones were sited. They are amongst the most important such sites in Britain and are aligned in the same off-centre alignment seen at other triple-circles in England.

A small local museum in a town once described as a full-flavoured fisher town. Buckhaven’s past importance in the East Coast Fisheries is reflected in the displays housed above Buckhaven Library. Free admission, open as Library. 

St Andrews, the home of golf, is also home to the British Golf Museum.

The museum has over 16,000 exhibits telling the story of golf from its origins in the Middle Ages to the present day.

Learning at the British Golf Museum

The Bell Pettigrew Museum is the University's zoology museum.  It is a rare survival of a Victorian teaching museum, and wonderfully atmospheric.

The displays, which include examples of several extinct species, are arranged to allow the evolutionary and taxonomic relationships between animals to be clearly understood.

Schools

Dunfermline’s fastest growing visitor experience

Restored overshot watermill with threshing machinery and various agricultural artefacts. Set on a working farm. A 10 minute video shows the mill in action. The local history of the area and agriculture is displayed. Craft/souvenir shop. Toilets and tourist information point.

The Crofthouse Museum takes visitors back to a time where life’s essentials were of a bare minimum. The House, barn and byre are all accessible under one roof and everything, from the floors to the kitchen appliances, is made with materials found and collected. 

Yell is the stepping stone island to Unst and Fetlar and is also home of the Old Haa Museum. Here, the history of the island, including the whaling years and shipwrecks are summarised along with natural history, genealogy and a picture and sound archive.

A dynamic community-run museum on one of Shetland’s remoter islands. Displays on crofting and the sea are complemented by early film and storytelling recordings, and interactive multimedia displays bring to life the island’s natural and cultural history.

George Waterson, the former Scottish Director of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, co-founded the Bird Observatory in 1948. Dr Waterson’s Memorial is a fascinating museum in the former Fair Isle School, which studies local social history and particularly the famous knitting traditions and patterns, plus natural history and archaeology.

Chronicalling the Shetland Bus Operations

Scalloway Museum is owned by a charity, the Shetland Bus Friendship Society (SBFS), and run by volunteers. The charity was formed in 2001, to instate a memorial to those who served and died in Shetland Bus operations during World War II.  The memorial was unveiled in 2003. The group continued, and went on to achieve the museum you see before you today.

Visit Unst Heritage Centre in Haroldswick and discover the unique story of Unst, the northernmost island in the UK.

Bearing in mind Unst’s special position as the northernmost outpost of the UK, the centre has a display about the lighthouse at Muckle Flugga, and a range of interpretive displays about geology, crofting, fine lace knitwear, the Shelties, etc.

The Scaladale Centre is an outdoor adventure residential centre, situated in Ardvourlie on the Isle of Harris in the beautiful Western Isles and is run by Lewis and Harris Youth Clubs Association. 

This 18th century fishing böd, located on the outskirts of Lerwick, is the birthplace of Arthur Anderson, co-founder of the P&O shipping company. Two rooms have been restored to how they looked 200 years ago, in the time of Arthur’s childhood. They also contain displays explaining the history of the whitefish industry at that time, when the böd was a fishing station house and warehouse.

Different aspects of life in Northmavine through the years are illustrated by using a mixture of artefacts and photographs. Part of the display has a new theme every year.

Maritime History of Shetland

The Boat Haven is dedicated to the maritime history of Shetland boats.

The collection consists of original wooden boats of various
types that have been in use over the past one hundred and forty
years.

Old tools, fishing gear, documents etc bring to live the era of fishing at 
the Far Haaf in open boats and the herring fishing at its peak in 1905.

A community museum addressing many aspects of local history, including crofiting, fishing, Viking occupation, blackhouses, trades and crafts, archaeology and finds, and the Lewis Chessmen, with extensive genealogical information. 

The Kildonan Centre in South Uist is a heritage and cultural amenity which includes a museum, a 

Situated literally on the on the seas edge in the village of Lochmaddy, on the Isle of North Uist, Taigh Chearsabhagh welcomes countless visitors each year to experience the arts, culture and heritage of the Uists. The centre is focus for life in North Uist and dedicates itself to a constantly changing programme of heritage and art exhibitions.

Pages

Login/Sign Up

Latest News

Schoolboy Falls From 60ft Cliff on School Trip

A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.