Quick Overview - Looking to go Medieval, get closer to the Tudors or marvel at the Monarchs? Newcastle Castle offers an exciting school trip that really brings history to life for your pupils. Schools can explore the medieval fortress, climb the ancient towers, and walk through the Great Hall to imagine life in the Middle Ages. You get to participate in interactive workshops and try on authentic armor. Learn about castle defenses, or even take part in a mini mock battle to understand medieval warfare. Newcastle Castle provides full or half day guided visits for schools that dive into the castle’s fascinating history, making it a perfect setting for your students to connect with the past in a memorable way. It is an adventure packed day with plenty of learning.Bring history to life at Newcastle Castle, where pupils can explore two remarkable Norman buildings and discover how people lived, worked and wielded power in the medieval world. Our curriculum-linked guided tours and hands-on workshops turn classroom topics into memorable, real-world learning experiences in an environment like no other.
In our workshops, students explore topics including the Norman Conquest, the training of knights, medieval courtly life, and crime and punishment. They take part in interactive activities designed to encourage curiosity, develop historical understanding and engage pupils of different abilities and learning styles.
A full-day visit combines a guided tour of the Castle Keep and Black Gate with a practical workshop led by our dedicated Learning team. Half-day visits offer the choice of a guided tour tailored to your age group, or a workshop, allowing teachers to customise their visit according to their curriculum, schedule and budget.
Our learning offer helps students understand how castles shaped the medieval landscape, how society and power operated, and how the past has influenced the world around them. By exploring an authentic historic site, pupils can connect historical evidence and stories with the places where history unfolded.
Teachers choose Newcastle Castle for its unique setting, curriculum-linked learning and engaging, practical activities. With flexible visit options and an accessible, heated indoor learning and lunch space, we make it easier to deliver an educational trip that complements classroom teaching and gives pupils a history lesson they will remember.
Current special offers for school groups
Book before prices go up!
Book now before prices go up!
We are currently working on updating and improving our learning offer. We have paused bookings for the remainder of 2026 but are currently taking bookings from 1st February 2027.
Our prices will be increasing next year, but we are currently honouring our 2026 price list, so any bookings for 2027 made in 2026 will remain discounted!
valid until: December 2026
Book before prices go up!
Book now before prices go up!
We are currently working on updating and improving our learning offer. We have paused bookings for the remainder of 2026 but are currently taking bookings from 1st February 2027.
Our prices will be increasing next year, but we are currently honouring our 2026 price list, so any bookings for 2027 made in 2026 will remain discounted!
valid until: December 2026
What activities are available during educational visits?
We cater for Primary, Secondary, Colleges and Universities. Whatever their age, your group will find an amazing learning experience at Newcastle Castle!
Primary Schools: Key Stages 1 & 2
Being able to explore our two Norman buildings, the Black Gate and the Castle Keep, will set students' imaginations racing. Our range of exciting hands-on workshops will give them a day out they will never forget. We offer a range of options from self-led visits to guided tours and workshops provided by our dedicated Learning team.
A full day visit to Newcastle Castle generally lasts between 10am and 2pm, with a 30 minute break for lunch at around 12pm. Your pupils will receive a guided tour of the Castle site, before returning to our Learning Room in the Black Gate to take part in one of our range of workshops.
If you have booked a half day, we deliver either a 90-minute guided tour of the Castle site, or one of our workshops in our Learning Room.
Our workshops are all designed to meet the needs of the National Curriculum and cover a wide range of topics. They all involve activities aimed at maintaining high engagement throughout, and include hands-on learning where possible.
Our learning room, the Harbottle Suite, in the Black Gate, doubles up as our indoor lunch space. It is fully accessible, heated and has a small kitchen space.
Secondary Schools: Key Stages 3 &4
Pupils can benefit from trips to historic sites at every level of their education. A visit to Newcastle Castle will help pupils develop a deeper understanding of history and of their place in it and will put what you teach about in the classroom into context. Our dedicated learning team can provide a cost effective way of engaging your students with history and firing their enthusiasm through our guided tours of the castle site, including the Black Gate Barbican, or gatehouse, and the Castle Keep.
Colleges, Universities & Further Education
Newcastle Castle is a must see for anyone studying in the North East and beyond. We can provide guided tours for freshers or University societies, or more focused sessions for particular courses and topics. We've also worked with Universities on a number of longer term projects. Organised group visits for college or university groups include a guided tour of the castle site, including the Black Gate Barbican, or gatehouse, and the Castle Keep. If you would like to arrange a specific introduction or presentation by a member of the castle team to suit your programme, please contact us directly and we will try to make a suitable arrangement.
Primary Schools: Key Stages 1 & 2
Being able to explore our two Norman buildings, the Black Gate and the Castle Keep, will set students' imaginations racing. Our range of exciting hands-on workshops will give them a day out they will never forget. We offer a range of options from self-led visits to guided tours and workshops provided by our dedicated Learning team.
A full day visit to Newcastle Castle generally lasts between 10am and 2pm, with a 30 minute break for lunch at around 12pm. Your pupils will receive a guided tour of the Castle site, before returning to our Learning Room in the Black Gate to take part in one of our range of workshops.
If you have booked a half day, we deliver either a 90-minute guided tour of the Castle site, or one of our workshops in our Learning Room.
Our workshops are all designed to meet the needs of the National Curriculum and cover a wide range of topics. They all involve activities aimed at maintaining high engagement throughout, and include hands-on learning where possible.
Our learning room, the Harbottle Suite, in the Black Gate, doubles up as our indoor lunch space. It is fully accessible, heated and has a small kitchen space.
Secondary Schools: Key Stages 3 &4
Pupils can benefit from trips to historic sites at every level of their education. A visit to Newcastle Castle will help pupils develop a deeper understanding of history and of their place in it and will put what you teach about in the classroom into context. Our dedicated learning team can provide a cost effective way of engaging your students with history and firing their enthusiasm through our guided tours of the castle site, including the Black Gate Barbican, or gatehouse, and the Castle Keep.
Colleges, Universities & Further Education
Newcastle Castle is a must see for anyone studying in the North East and beyond. We can provide guided tours for freshers or University societies, or more focused sessions for particular courses and topics. We've also worked with Universities on a number of longer term projects. Organised group visits for college or university groups include a guided tour of the castle site, including the Black Gate Barbican, or gatehouse, and the Castle Keep. If you would like to arrange a specific introduction or presentation by a member of the castle team to suit your programme, please contact us directly and we will try to make a suitable arrangement.
Which curriculum topics do we cater for?
Medieval School Trip
Norman Conquest Medieval Society and Feudalism Black Death and Medicine Peasants Revolt Castles Battle of Hastings
Step back into the Middle Ages at Newcastle Castle, where pupils can explore two remarkable Norman buildings and discover what life was like in a medieval castle. Through engaging guided tours and hands-on workshops, children investigate medieval society, warfare, power and everyday life.
Our workshops bring medieval history to life through practical activities that encourage pupils to explore the roles of knights, the lives of the nobility, medieval food and feasting, and the castle's function as a place of defence, government and justice. Pupils can discover how castles shaped the landscape and society of medieval England, while exploring the architecture and history of the Castle Keep and Black Gate. Activities support pupils in developing their historical knowledge and understanding of the people, structures and events that shaped the medieval world.
Local History
>Monarchs
>Tudors
>What size groups do we cater for?
Our maximum capacity in a day is 60 pupils.
On-site classroom facilities?
Our learning room, the Harbottle Suite, in the Black Gate, doubles up as our indoor lunch space. It is fully accessible, heated and has a small kitchen space. Use of the lunch room is included in a full day visit. For half day visits, there is a charge of £30 per day for use of the lunch room.
Is there first aid on site?
Our staff are first aid trained.
Groups with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND)
Staff support
1:1 support workers admitted freePre-visit familiarisation visit welcome
Medical & personal care
First aid trained staff
At Newcastle Castle we are committed to supporting all learners including those with special educational needs and disabilities
Because everyone is different, there is no one size fits all solution to providing support to learners with SEND, so we would ask you to let us know about any special needs for anyone in your group and we can discuss with you how best to support them.
It is particularly important that we know about any physical access needs that anyone in your group might have - the Castle Keep is a difficult building from an access point of view, having a large number of steep stairs.
The workshops are delivered in the Harbottle Suite in the Black Gate, which is accessible by lift.
This is also the indoor lunch space, and has an accessible toilet.
Teacher Checklist
Inspection Visits Free Places for Teachers Resource Packs
LOtC Quality Badge
£5m PL Insurance
Who are Newcastle Castle?
Newcastle Castle is where the story of Newcastle begins. Built on a site occupied for nearly 2,000 years, from the Roman fort of Pons Aelius to the Norman fortress that gave the city its name, the Castle offers a unique window into the people, power and events that shaped the North East. Through its two surviving medieval buildings, the Castle Keep and Black Gate, visitors can uncover stories of kings and knights, prisoners and merchants, and ordinary people who lived and worked here. For schools, our guided tours and hands-on workshops bring history to life, turning the past into something pupils can explore, question and experience for themselves.
Every enquiry gives you a chance to win trips and workshops for your school - We are giving away a free trip for every week of the Autumn term!
Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE1 1RQ
