Castle Head FIeld Centre School Trip

Field Studies Council

Residential Trip Residentials North West

-Castle Head is easily accessible by both road and rail, being only 20 minutes from junction 36 of the M6 and an hour and a half drive from both Manchester and Liverpool. The closest train station at Grange-over-Sands is only 5 minutes’ drive from the Centre.

-Field Studies Council courses are created carefully to link to curriculum requirements. We can work with you to tailor content to fit in with work back in the classroom.

-Teaching staff are passionate and experienced.

- We take care of everything once you arrive; comfortable accommodation, all your meals (residential visits) plus transport during the course.

-Different price bands are offered throughout the year to offer value for money.

- Castle Head field centre is part of Field Studies Council, an environmental education charity with 75 years’ experience of providing fieldwork and outdoor learning and a network of UK centres offering day and residential fieldwork opportunities.

-Field Studies Council works in many other ways to create a world where everyone feels connected to the environment including through projects working in local communities and lobbying government to include fieldwork in the curriculum.

Teacher Checklist

Risk Assessments
Inspection Visits
Free Places for Teachers
Bursaries or Funded Places Available
Resource Packs
LOtC Quality Badge
AALA Licence
Institute of Outdoor Learning
Duke of Edinburgh Award

What activities are available during educational visits?

There is a range of activities available such as:
Primary: minibeast hunt, pond dipping, hiking, low ropes, eco-activity, rock climibing, bushcraft, orienteering, raft building
Secondary/A level: geography independent investigations, adventurous geography, river study, biology core practicals

Which curriculum topics do we cater for?

Watersports School Trip

Canoeing

A river runs through the grounds of Castle Head which is ideal for raft building. Groups can also do a canoeing expedition playing games and observing wildlife whilst building bonds with one another.

Biology School Trip

Plants Animals including humans Living things and habitats Ecology and environment Life Cycles Minibeasts Habitats Underwater Animals and Habitats Medicine

Castle Head can offer a range of biology courses from fun KS2 to curriculum-based A level trips. KS2 pupils can look at a range of habitats, learning about microhabitats and how they provide the basic needs for living things. Pupils can learn to identify the different structures of plants and name a variety of common animals. Pupils will mini beast hunt and observe them in their microhabitats.
For A level students we have the Life Science centres which allows pupils to look at gene technologies.

Human Geography School Trip Click to expand

Settlement and land use Natural resources Population Urbanisation

We offer a range of sessions and courses covering human geography through fieldwork. Most sessions have short classroom sessions before and after.
Human Geography can be covered through fieldwork in a range of sessions and courses. Depending on the level and course you follow, this may include;
- Discovering the impact of people on the habitat using a range of fieldwork techniques
- Economic Growth and functions
- Regeneration and Placemaking
- Investigate the impact of counter-urbanisation in two contrasting settlements
- A qualitative and a quantitative fieldwork method
- develop an understanding of questions that can be investigated through fieldwork
- data presentation and analysis

Teaching is delivered by fully trained and experienced tutors.

Physical Geography School Trip Click to expand

Water cycles Rivers Map and atlas Mountains Environment Coasts and seaside Fieldwork Glaciers

Geography courses cover KS2 to A level groups. KS2 pupils can use maps, stories and games to explore the woods. Discover the plants and animals that live here and design and build dens.
Our geography fieldwork trips and courses are carefully designed to cover all essential content from the curriculum. We ensure the maximum time outdoors possible, allowing students to take advantage of all benefits resulting from outdoor learning.
The geography fieldwork courses are tailored to curriculum requirements for GCSE, A Level, National, Higher, IB and lower secondary specifications and packed with relevant fieldwork content.
A selection of our popular residential visits to give an idea of what we can offer include:
Coastal – Where the land meets the sea, the UK’s coastline is over 7500 miles in length, and are influenced by many physical and human forces, with dramatic consequences for the people who live there.
Rivers - constantly changing, water levels rise and fall after rain and with the seasons. Erosion, transportation and deposition can all alter the characteristics of the channel and the regime of the river
Regeneration - a complex process aiming to turn areas into sustainable, desirable and effective spaces for us to use and enjoy.
Investigations - at a local scale to consider place meaning and representation changing economic function and socio-demographic characteristics of places.
But we can also create a trip that is totally bespoke to your needs.

Teaching is delivered by fully trained and experienced tutors, to create and deliver geography experiences to suit your requirements. Most sessions have short classroom sessions before and after.

Environmental Geography School Trip Click to expand

Extreme Weather Conservation

Environmental geography can be covered through fieldwork in a range of sessions and courses. For KS4 and A level students all courses are linked to the exam board requirements for each subject and the course can be tailored to your specific needs.
Students can cover a range of environmental geography topics looking at different plants and animals.
Dependant on the course you choose, students could have the opportunity to;
- take first hand measurements, make observations of distinctive river land forms found at the fieldwork sites along the river.
- make a comparison of two different areas used to observe the contrasting abundance of plants associated with varying management regimes.
- Investigate how human activity affects biodiversity, local flows, cycles and processes.
- take primary measurements of the coastal landscape in order to interpret the impact of key coastal processes and management on the landscape.

Delivered by expert, passionate tutors at the forefront of fieldwork tuition with a wide range of contrasting locations available.

Fieldstudies School Trip Click to expand

Sampling and Statistics Coastal Ecosystems

We offer a range of sessions and courses covering field studies. For KS4 and A level students we link all of our courses to the exam board requirements for each subject and can tailor the course to your specific needs.
Field studies can be covered through fieldwork in a range of sessions and courses.
This can include:
- Sampling Statistics
- Fieldwork Methodology
- Investigation Introduction
- Coastal Environments
- Ecosystems
- Mapping
- River Studies
- Habitats etc
For KS4 and A level students all of our courses are linked to the exam board requirements for each subject and can be tailored to meet your specific needs.

Wildlife School Trip Click to expand

Students will look at a variety of plants and common animals using age appropriate classification keys to identify living things we find in our woodland and in our pond habitats.
Discover what animals and plants can be found in the local area. Pupils have the opportunity to identify a range of plants and invertebrates and investigate how they interact with each other.

Understand that plants play an important role in the survival of animals by looking at simple food chains/webs. They will investigate how living things are adapted to the environment they live in and how their habitats help them to survive. Investigate the structure of a plant and discover its roles. Classify a variety of invertebrates using their features and investigate how they are adapted to their habitat.

Bushcraft School Trip

Identify basic survival needs, explore the woods, build a shelter and forage for wild foods. Follow a woodland trail and search for tracks and signs. A day filled with team building and problem-solving activities.

We offer a range of sessions and courses on bushcraft including den building, fire lighting foraging and more, delivered by fully trained and experienced tutors.

Physical Education School Trip

Canoeing High Ropes

Castle Head can offer a range of adventurous activities including abseiling, rock climbing, ghyll scrambling, high ropes, low ropes, obstacle course and raft building. Pupils can do these activities in a residential course alongside curriculum content or environmental education.

Team Building School Trip Click to expand

We introduce children to exciting and challenging concepts of working well together, using a wide variety of fun activities and puzzles designed to encourage problem solving and teamwork.

Courses fuse fieldwork with outdoor activities to give students the opportunity to explore real geographical contexts in an exciting and engaging way. Our courses allows students to get first-hand experiences of a range of physical landscapes and processes and a unique insight into the interaction of people and the environment.
Individuals undertaking the course will be encouraged to develop their team skills and individual motivation whilst involved in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.

What size groups do we cater for?

We can cater for groups of various sizes. Courses have a minimum of 10 students and a maximum capacity of 155.

On-site classroom facilities?

The centre has several classrooms on site.

Is there first aid on site?

All our field teachers are trained in first aid and group management. A qualified first aider is available at the field centre 24 hours a day.

Who are Field Studies Council?

Field Studies Council offers fieldwork and outdoor learning for groups of all ages at centres across the UK. Trips use our stunning locations to teach curriculum focused work and inspire everyone about the environment.

Primary field trips enable you to pick and choose from a range of exciting adventure or curriculum sessions to build your own trip. A visit to FSC Castle Head will immerse primary school children in the natural world, taking in its sights, sounds and smells.

For secondary and A level groups we offer geography, biology and environmental science courses. Courses can be tailored to your own requirements to ensure you get the most from your visit and trips utilise the local environment to fully engage students.

Bring your subject to life in the outdoor classroom!

Special rates for schools
outside of peak season

Key Stage 3 / S1-S3 residentials from £179 for two nights

Book now for a residential between September 2025 and March 2026 for a discount of over 25% on our usual prices*:

- Two-night residential: £179
- Two-night residential including two adventure activities: £199
- Four-night residential including four adventure activities: £349

Lay strong foundations for secondary school success with a Key Stage 3 course.

Our UK centres host exciting, outdoor experiences for Key Stage 3 and S1-S3 students to foster strong bonds with others and personal growth while also covering curriculum content.

Choose from:
Active Geography: Fuse fieldwork with outdoor activities to explore real geographical contexts in an exciting and engaging way.
Active Science: Benefit from first hand fieldwork experiences in a range of habitats with outdoor activities to develop team skills.
Outdoors and Adventure: An action packed course, set in stunning natural locations and inspiring students to succeed and excel in new physical challenges.
Common Entrance: Cover the stages of the Individual Fieldwork Enquiry for the Geography 13+ Common Entrance Exam.
S1-S3 Environmental Exploration and Adventure: An active outdoor trip covering SQA curriculum content.

View our website: https://www.field-studies-council.org/key-stage-3/

*Residential discounted prices T&C’s can be found on our website

Teacher Checklist

Risk Assessments
Inspection Visits
Free Places for Teachers
Bursaries or Funded Places Available
Resource Packs
LOtC Quality Badge
AALA Licence
Institute of Outdoor Learning
Duke of Edinburgh Award