FREE Trips available!

Orford Castle

English Heritage School Trips

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

Book a visit to Orford Castle to bring medieval history to life. Explore from the basement, through the lower and upper halls, to the roof, where there are magnificent views towards Orford Ness.

Bring the curriculum to life at Orford Castle:
KS1-3 History: Local History study. Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality
KS1-2 Geography: Understand where Orford Castle was built, and why its location was so important to king Henry II
KS1-KS2 Drama: Links between the building and people who used it through various role play
KS2 History: Extend pupils' chronological knowledge beyond 1066
KS2-3 Geography: Place Orford Castle in its geographical context
KS3 History: The development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509; The development of Church, state and society in Britain 1509 -1745
KS3 Maths, Design & Technology: Understand that Orford Castle’s shape was carefully designed using simple geometry
KS4 History: OCR Specification A; study of the historic environment: ‘Castles: Form and Function c.1000-1750’

Teacher Checklist

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

What activities are available during group visits?

Bring learning to life and book your free self-led visit to Orford Castle, to discover one of England's best preserved and most unique keeps. Explore from the basement to the roof, and follow a maze of passages leading to the chapel, kitchen and other chambers in the turrets, to imagine what life was like in a medieval castle. Learn more about local history in the Orford Museum, located upstairs in the castle.

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?

Medieval

Curriculum topics available: Medieval Society and Feudalism, Religion and Crusades.

Orford Castle was very strategically important in the medieval period. Your class can learn about how the castle was given to Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in 1261. Bigod was loyal to Henry III and supported him in 1264 when the Second Baron's War broke out. During the civil war the castle was captured several times, and at the end of the conflict the king gave the castle to his eldest son, Prince Edward. Pupils can explore the local and national importance of the castle through our Teachers' Kit available on the English Heritage website, with activities for before, during, and after your trip.

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.