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

Neolithic and Iron Age site rich in wildlife, offering sweeping views of surrounding countryside

Discover an unusually designed Iron Age hill fort, containing a smaller central, possibly Neolithic, enclosure. Enjoy the exceptional views from the ramparts over Salisbury Plain, Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral. The ramparts also act as a refuge for unusual plants.

A magnificent Tudor merchant’s house

This beautiful building has been home to merchants and mayors through the ages. A museum since 1900, its stunning Tudor and Stuart interiors now house rich furnishings and textiles that give a real feel for the day to day life of its wealthy former owners. 

This remarkable small museum is home to many diverse collections of items made from straw including marquetry, embroidery, straw stars, Swiss straw lace and dyed straw marquetry. 

There are also examples of other crafts such as quilling, tatting and beadwork. Owner, Ella Carstairs, will be happy to give you demonstrations of straw marquetry and quilling.

His place of birth, home, influence and inspiration

Welcome to Shrewsbury – the birthplace of Charles Robert Darwin: naturalist, explorer and true Salopian.

Nestled right beside the beach in a beautiful area of North Norfolk, this rural setting really gives children the opportunity to get out into the great outdoors

A spectacularly grand Manor House, steeped in history and situated in a vibrant seaside town on the North Norfolk coast, Overstrand provides a unique study environment

Specialist Environmental Field Study centre for Geography, Biology and Environmental Science, with dedicated and passionate tutors

A friendly run activity centre, we are small enough to care but large enough and experienced enough to matter. A residential outdoor education programme can be an extremely powerful, meaningful and fun learning experience. We aim to provide an Outdoor Education experience that will be the highlight to any educational or youth programme.

Adventures in the Wild!

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. We pay meticulous attention to the details, making sure our pastoral care is second to none, our activities are both exciting and educational, and the whole experience of working with 

St Mary's Hospital is home to the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum. The laboratory where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin has been restored to its cramped condition of 1928 and incorporated into a museum about the discovery and his life and work. It is open to the public from Monday to Thursday from 10am to 1pm and can be visited by appointment outside of these times.

The Florence Nightingale Museum is located at St Thomas's Hospital.

A charming small museum with collections of agricultural and domestic tools from Lynton and Exmoor. Also maritime, railway, and natural history. Unique pictures of the Lynmouth Flood, and a Victorian dolls' house. 

Housed in Lynton's oldest surviving domestic dwelling, it even includes its own ghost!

Natural History

A collection of perambulators; strollers; and sundry curious conveyances

What should you look for at the Pram Museum?

In a word, it's wheels! wheels! and wheels! Well . . . it's actually wheels and axles and the frame. It doesn't matter how cute the bears-and-bunnies print is if a wheel falls off in the middle of the street, or the frame collapses without warning with your 23-month-old in the stroller.

The Foundling Museum explores the history of the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first children’s charity, and first public art gallery, and celebrates the ways in which artists of all disciplines have helped improve children’s lives for over 270 years.

Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, Kimbolton Castle was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester. It now houses Kimbolton School.

1930s-style garden, with herbaceous borders, cottage garden and lily pond

Did you know?

Dorneywood is traditionally the country residence of a senior member of the Government, usually a Secretary of State or Minister of the Crown. It was given to us by Lord Courtauld-Thomson and it is administered by the Dorneywood Trust.

Useful information

Dorneywood is open on selected summer dates.

An ancient hill fort with views over the Otter Valley

An impressive Iron Age hill fort, Dumpdon sits on one of the largest and most striking hills in the beautiful Otter Valley.

The climb is well worth the effort, offering fantastic views of the surrounding area. Explore these impressive defensive earthworks before visiting the mysterious small beech forest behind.

17th-century manor house with romantic, intimate gardens

Come and explore East Riddlesden Hall, home of 17th century cloth merchant James Murgatroyd.  See the changes he made and discover why his work was never completed.

For generations, this estate was a hive of farming activity; producing enough milk, cheese and bread to adequately supply the household and its workers.

13th-century monastic barn

One of Europe's oldest timber-framed buildings, it has a cathedral-like interior and is linked to a local Cistercian abbey.

Inside the barn hosts an exhibition of local woodcarving, tools and a collection of agricultural carts.

Step back to the 1770s at poet William Wordsworth’s childhood home

Wordsworth House and Garden, in the Cumbrian town of Cockermouth, is the birthplace and childhood home of romantic poet William and his sister Dorothy.

It is presented as it would have been when they lived here with their parents, three brothers and servants in the 1770s.

Set a mere four miles from Stonehenge, Netheravon Dovecote is a charming yet practical building - and an excellent example of an early 18th century dovecote. It still retains most of its original 700 chalk nesting boxes.

The Deepest Nuclear Bunker in the South of England

Come and witness the three lives of the bunker starting with its role as an RAF ROTOR Station, then a brief period as a civil defence centre through to its most recent life as a Regional Government HQ.

Chalice Well is one of Britain's most ancient wells, nestling in the Vale of Avalon between the famous Glastonbury Tor and Chalice Hill. Surrounded by beautiful gardens and orchards it is a living sanctuary in which the visitor can experience the quiet healing of this sacred place.

Honey-coloured stone house with exquisite plasterwork and fine landscaped garden

Nestled in the heart of rural Warwickshire, surrounded by elegant lakes and fine landscape gardens sits Farnborough Hall. Made from the locally quarryed Horton honey-coloured stone, this country house shimmers in the sunlight.

Houghton House today is the shell of a 17th century mansion commanding magnificent views, reputedly the inspiration for the ‘House Beautiful’ in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.

The museum was opened in 1875 to house the Thackeray Collection of British Birds and other collections and has been located in its present site since 1895. It now houses over 15,000 specimens, donated from the nineteenth century onwards. Initially, the museum belonged to Eton College Natural History Society and was actively curated by boys.

Explore the history of medicine. Be terrified by our death masks and find out what an amputation looked like in the 19th century! Stop at the apothecary for a cholera remedy and have a go at our mystery object game.

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