FREE Trips available!

Whitby Abbey

English Heritage School Trips

Why book 'Whitby Abbey' with English Heritage for School Trips and Educational Visits?

A school visit to Whitby Abbey is a unique experience. Having endured coastal erosion and stormy weather, destruction during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the rule of King Henry VIII and shellfire from German naval ships during the First World War, Whitby Abbey remains an iconic landmark along the North Yorkshire coastline. But what was life like at the founding monastery during the 7th century?

A visit to Whitby Abbey offers cross curriculum links across the key stages:

KS1 History: significant historical events, people and places in their own locality

KS2 History: Anglo-Saxon art and culture; Christian conversion

KS2-3 History: A local history study

KS2-3 Religious Studies: Religion in daily life, why was an abbey built on the site and who lived there?

KS3 History: a study of an aspect or site in local history dating from a period before 1066; the development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509

Teacher Checklist

Risk Assessments
Inspection Visits
Free Places for Teachers
Free Places for Students
Resource Packs

What activities are available during group visits?

We offer free entry to qualifying learning groups. Book a free education visit and lead your visit to Whitby Abbey in your own way. Download our Teachers' Kit from the English Heritage website for site information and activity suggestions for before, during and after your visit.

Bring Whitby Abbey to life and let us lead a Discovery Visit for you. Our session is interactive and immersive, and has been specifically designed to meet the needs of your students. This session has been developed for KS2 learners and can be adapted for KS1 and KS3. It explores life in Anglo-Saxon monasteries and the lives of medieval Benedictine monks.
Our Discovery Visit has been adapted to follow health and safety guidelines and will still offer your students a quality and fun learning experience.

Which Curriculum Subjects do you cater for?

Religious Education

Christianity

Learn about the first Anglican monastery founded at Whitby by the abbess St Hild and the Synod of Whitby, a landmark event which helped to shape the future of Christianity in England, as well as the later Benedictine monastery at Whitby during the medieval period.

Saxons

Arts and Culture

The first Anglican monastery founded at Whitby during the Anglo-Saxon period was a key site in early Christianity in North East England. Learn about Christian conversion, Abbess St Hild and Anglo-Saxon art and culture.
To enhance your learning, book a MONKS, MONASTERIES AND MEDIEVAL LIFE Life hands-on workshop to learn why Whitby Abbey was founded and how it changed through time from the Anglo-Saxon period to the medieval period, through costume and object handling. Perfect for KS2-3, a workshop costs £100 per class of up to 30 children.

English

Story writing Creative writing Storytelling

Whitby Abbey is famous for its literary connection to Bram Stoker’s novel ‘Dracula’. You and your students can retrace Dracula’s path up the 199 steps to the abbey, and use the site as the perfect inspiration for your students to create their own Gothic story.

Medieval

Medieval Society and Feudalism

A Benedictine monastery was founded at Whitby after the Norman Conquest. You can explore the ruins of the 13th century church for free on a school visit, and learn more about life in the monastery in the on-site exhibition.
To enhance your learning, book a MONKS, MONASTERIES AND MEDIEVAL LIFE hands-on workshop to learn why Whitby Abbey was founded, how it changed from the Anglo-Saxon period to the medieval period, and what life was like in a Benedictine monastery, through costume and object handling. Perfect for KS2-3, a workshop costs £100 per class of up to 30 children.

What size groups do you cater for?

There are generally no limits to the size of education group, provided the group meets our ratios for leaders to learners. Our Discovery Visit workshops are suitable for groups of up to 30. Please see our school visit terms and conditions on our website for further details.

Do you offer on-site classroom facilities?

Many of our sites have education rooms that can be booked. Please check the relevant schools property page before making a booking.

Is there first aid on site?

Yes.

Do you offer access for visitors with disabilities?

Yes – please see our website for further details.

Do you cater for visitors with Special Educational Needs (SEN)?

Our facilities have been designed to be as accessible as possible in order to meet the different needs of our visitors. A summary of the facilities provided can be found on our schools property pages. If you or anyone in your group has particular access needs, please let us know at the point of booking or get in touch with our bookings team before you visit. Please note that some facilities may require booking in advance.

Who are English Heritage?

English Heritage cares for over 400 historic buildings, monuments and sites - from world-famous prehistoric sites to grand medieval castles, from Roman forts on the edges of the empire to a Cold War bunker. Through these, we bring the story of England to life for over 10 million people each year, over 300,000 of whom are education visitors.
We’re the largest heritage provider of school trips and provide a wealth of free educational resources, alongside expert-led, paid-for workshops for KS1-4. The high-quality of our education provision has been recognised most recently with a number of Sandford awards. Caring for our places and their collections, for the benefit of this and future generations is a cornerstone of everything we do.
We are a charity, no. 1140351, and a company, no. 07447221, registered in England.