4 Fascinating Educational UK Destinations For School Trips
It’s coming up to the summer term, and a classic time for a school trip. The weather has finally improved, and teachers and students alike are keen for a break from the classroom before the final trial of end of year exams. An educational trip can help to bring to life academic subjects, inspiring students to learn and achieve more.
The UK offers a rich variety of educational destinations that will enhance understanding and provide context to curriculum teaching, as well as stimulate the imagination. Here are some suggestions for an enriching and rewarding school summer term trip. The most popular destinations get booked up quickly, so act now, including organising the coach hire!
Beamish – The Living Museum of the North, County Durham
Beamish is an award-winning open air museum that brings specific eras of 19th and 20th century history to life, and is centred on regions in the north east of England. It’s ideal for enhancing subjects such as history and sociology.
There are several areas to explore, such as the 1820s village of Pockerley, which includes an Old Hall and Gardens that are carefully recreated to demonstrate the Georgian era way of life. At the Drover’s Tavern, you can sample typical food and drink of the era, and also learn about droving, which involved delivering livestock to market over long distances.
The 1900s town recreates the urban way of life in the north east at the beginning of the 20th century. There’s a bakery selling bread and cakes made with traditional Edwardian recipes; a Cop-op store; a garage with replica motorcycles and early motorcars; a chemist; a sweet shop; a bank; a fairground, and much more.
There are authentic farms of the 1940s and 1950s to explore, and a colliery where visitors can explore an underground drift mine, alongside a 1900s pit village, complete with pit pony stables, a school, and a silver band hall.
Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, Cheshire
Jodrell Bank on the Cheshire Plain is an excellent choice to bring STEM subjects to life. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and home to the Lovell Telescope, the UK’s largest radio telescope. It’s also part of the University of Manchester, and one the best places in the country and internationally to study physics and astrophysics.
The centre has tailored programmes for curriculum-linked learning from each Key stage, right from nursery and reception class up until A level. Students can learn about the solar system and explore interactive exhibitions, as well as learning about the scientific work that goes on in the Observatory in a way that is tailored to their age group.
Shakespeare’s Birthplace & Schoolroom, Stratford-upon-Avon
Most students will study at least one Shakespeare play during their school years, and a visit to the playwright’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon can really help to bring these immense and sometimes rather daunting works of literature to life.
At Shakespeare’s Schoolroom and Guildhall, it’s possible to sit in the very room where the young bard learned and penned his first works. Pupils can participate in a lesson using a quill and ink, and discover fascinating facts about life in the 1570s in a fun and imaginative environment.
Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum
Thinktank is an award-winning museum in Birmingham that is geared towards children, and is perfect for supporting the learning of science and technology subjects in a thought-provoking and engaging way. There are over 200 interactive displays to explore, as well as a digital planetarium and an outdoor Science Garden.
Besides all this, there’s dinosaurs, marine worlds, and the opportunity to learn about Birmingham’s industrial past through historic steam engines, trains, cars and planes. Tailored workshops and events are available for children at all stages of the National curriculum.
