FREE Trips available!

Scarborough Castle

English Heritage School Trips

Why book 'Scarborough Castle' with English Heritage for School Trips and Educational Visits?

Bring the curriculum to life and inspire your students with a visit to Scarborough Castle. Dominating Scarborough's headland, the site's history spans some 3000 years, with Henry II's 12th-century keep being the centrepiece of the fortifications developed following the siege of 1312 and two more sieges during the English Civil War. In December 1914, key parts of the castle were destroyed by German naval warships, but what role has Scarborough played in local and national events? Let your class gather all the evidence and decide for themselves.

Support your teaching in the classroom by stepping out of it. A visit to Scarborough Castle will help you bring learning to life, covering multiple topics across the curriculum and key stages.

KS1 History: Significant historical events, people and places in the locality. Study of castles

KS2 History: A local history study. Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain. Britain's Settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots. A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066

KS2 Geography: Human geography: types of settlement and land use, identify the difference between natural and manmade defensive features of the castle, understand the strategic significance of the castle’s position

KS3 History: A local history study. The development of church, state and society in medieval Britain 1066-1509 and in Britain 1509-1745

KS3 Geography: Understand the key processes in human geography; understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes

Teacher Checklist

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

What activities are available during group visits?

Book a free self-led visit to Scarborough Castle and organise your day to suit your curriculum objectives. Investigate prehistoric and Roman artefacts found at the castle in the exhibition in the Master Gunner’s House, and see the remains of the Roman signal station built to defend the cost. Explore the 12th Century stone keep and the curtain wall and imagine what life was like for medieval lords defending the castle from attack. Scarborough was famously bombarded during WW1, and standing in the castle grounds offers the perfect opportunity to explore this event in local history using the activity and extract in the Teachers’ Activity Ideas on the English Heritage website.

Bring Scarborough Castle 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 different groups across the key stages. Explore what life was like in the Medieval Period, and how the castle was defended during times of conflict. Our Discovery Visit has been adapted to follow health and safety guidelines and will still offer your students a quality and fun learning experience.

You can also download our free teaching resources to help support learning before, during and after your visit.

Which Curriculum Subjects do you cater for?

Prehistory

Bronze Age Iron Age

Explore the prehistoric artefacts found at Scarborough in the museum, using the ‘Extraordinary Objects’ activity in the Teachers’ Kit available from the English Heritage website to structure your discussion of the objects.

Romans

Romanisation and ways of life

Discover the story of the Roman signal station built at Scarborough, see the ruins of the tower, and spot the Roman artefacts in the museum.

Medieval

Medieval Society and Feudalism Castles

Explore the impressive keep and imagine what life was like in a medieval castle. Use the activity sheet with top 10 things to see, available from the English Heritage website, to guide your visit, and download the Teachers’ Activity ideas for inspiration to help support your teaching before, during and after your visit. To enhance learning, book an expert-led Discovery Visit workshop:
• ROYALS, RESISTANCE AND REBELLION (KS1-3): immerse your class in the medieval period on this interactive tour that investigates the castle as a defensive structure. Plan the attack and defence of this mighty fortress, and learn how the natural and man-made defences made Scarborough a seat of power in Northern England. £100 per class, session lasts for 1¼ hours.

Human Geography

Settlement and land use

Why was a castle built at Scarborough? Use the ‘Landscape or Man-Made?’ activity in the Teachers’ Kit available from the English Heritage website to investigate the natural and man-made defences at Scarborough Castle, and why these might have influenced where it was built.

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.