Dover Castle School Trip

English Heritage

Dover CT16 1HU

Bring the curriculum to life and inspire your students. Stand at the spot where Operation Dynamo was planned, or experience what life was like for a medieval king or servant.

A visit to Dover 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

KS2 History: A local history study. A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066. The changing power of monarchs using case studies

KS2 Maths: Enriching mathematical understanding - breaking codes in WW2

KS3 History: The development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509. Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day

KS3 Maths: Enriching mathematical understanding - breaking codes in WW2

KS4 History: OCR History A: Study of the Historic Environment, OCR History B: History Around Us; AQA Section B: British depth studies including the historic environment, Norman and Medieval England

KS5 History: OCR Unit Y103/Y133: England 1199 - 1272, OCR Unit Y113/Y143: Churchill 1930 - 1951; Edexcel Paper 2, Option 2A.2: England and the Angevin Empire in the reign of Henry II, 1154 - 1189

Teacher Checklist

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

We can visit your school in: London & South East

What activities are available during educational visits?

Enjoy a free self-led visit to Dover Castle and experience 2000 years of history. Start at the Roman lighthouse, then explore The Great Tower to learn more about Henry II. Descend into the Medieval tunnels on the way to the atmospheric Secret Wartime Tunnels. Find out more about WWI and the role of the WWI Fire Command Post by using our handling box, full of artefacts and activities and book the education room to dress up and imagine what life would have been like as a medieval lady or knight.

Let us lead an award-winning Discovery Visit for you! Experience what life was like for the lords and ladies who lived at Dover Castle during our interactive Knights, Feasts and Garderobes session, or step inside the Secret Wartime Tunnels and find out more about the work carried out there during WWII. Our hands-on sessions have been specifically designed to meet the needs of different groups across the key stages.

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

Which curriculum topics do we cater for?

Maths School Trip

Logic and Problem Solving

Enrich your students’ mathematical understanding with a SECRET CODES AND CIPHERS (KS2-3) Discovery Visit workshop, learning to break codes and complete a secret mission. Put this learning into context in the story of Dover Castle’s role in WW2, understanding the planning of ‘Operation Dynamo’, the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, and the code-breaking work carried out inside the Secret Wartime Tunnels.

Medieval School Trip

Medieval Society and Feudalism Religion and Crusades Castles

Explore Dover Castle’s medieval history in the Great Tower keep and Medieval Tunnels. Enhance your learning with an expert-led KNIGHTS, FEASTS AND GARDEROBES (KS1-3) Discovery Visit workshop, to find out what life was like for the lords and ladies who lived at the Castle and for those who served them. Enjoy an interactive tour of the Great Tower at Dover Castle including lessons on courtly language and behaviour, role play and object handling.

World War School Trip

War and the British Empire Women in wartime Air Raids Blitz and Battle of Britain The Home Front D Day Landings and VE Day

Click to read full text During WW2, Dover Castle became a top secret HQ. Explore the Secret Wartime Tunnels, stand on the spot where Operation Dynamo was planned and use the handling box of artefacts and activities to help you learn more about WWI and the role of the WWI Fire Command Post at Dover Castle.
Enhance your learning with an expert-led SECRET CODES AND CIPHERS (KS2-3) Discovery Visit workshop to learn about Dover Castle’s WW2 role in the planning of ‘Operation Dynamo’, the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, and how it became a top secret HQ. Find out more about the work carried out inside the Secret Wartime Tunnels at Dover Castle by breaking codes and helping to complete a secret mission.

Human Geography School Trip

Settlement and land use

Strategically positioned looking out across the English Channel, the location of Dover Castle was carefully planned. Use the Junior Geographers activity and the Activity Trail (both available in the downloadable Teachers’ Kit on the English Heritage website) to examine the reasons behind Dover Castle’s location.

What size groups do we 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.

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.

Access for visitors with disabilities

Yes – please see our website for further details.

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