Beeston Castle and Woodland Park School Trip

English Heritage

Tarporley CW6 9TX

Beeston Castle, with its impressive location and natural defenses, has been home to prehistoric settlers and great Barons. It has acted as a defense against aristocratic rivals, and has even been an important English Civil War stronghold. What better place to step outside the classroom and bring your curriculum to life?

Cover a range of topics across the key stages:

KS1 History: Significant historical events, people and places in the locality. Similarities and differences in ways of life in different time periods

KS1 Science: Identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common plants, including trees. Identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including microhabitats

KS2 History: A local history study. Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to Iron Age. A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066

KS2 Science: Name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment

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. A study of an aspect or theme in British history that consolidates and extends pupils’ chronological knowledge from before 1066

Beeston Castle and Woodland Park photograph

school trip at Beeston Castle and Woodland Park

school groups Beeston Castle and Woodland Park

Teacher Checklist

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

What activities are available during educational visits?

Organise your day to suit your curriculum needs. Climb the hill to look out over the surrounding landscape, explore the castle ruins and peer down the well, one of the deepest castle wells in England. Discover the Bronze Age story of Beeston in our newly completed roundhouse. Made using traditional materials and techniques, it is based on archaeological evidence of Bronze Age huts found at Beeston and offers an idea of how prehistoric settlers might have lived. The woodland surrounding the castle contains a diverse range of plants and animals, and provides an excellent opportunity to learn about KS1-2 science topics in an outdoor environment.

For a hands-on, immersive experience, book a Discovery Visit workshop led by one of the site experts at Beeston Castle. Perfect for KS2, these workshops for up to 30 pupils offer quality learning experiences outside of the classroom:
• Prehistoric Settlers (KS2): learn about life at Beeston in the Bronze Age through hands-on activities and a visit to the newly completed Bronze Age roundhouse. £100 per class, session lasts for 1½ hours
• Fortress Castle (KS2): discover medieval life at Beeston Castle, using role play, costume and handling objects to bring the past to life. £100 per class, session lasts for 1½ hours

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?

Prehistory School Trip

Bronze Age Iron Age

Learn about Beeston’s prehistoric past through interactive activities and a visit to the newly completed Bronze Age roundhouse, in an expert-led PREHISTORIC SETTLERS Discovery Visit workshop.

Medieval School Trip

Medieval Society and Feudalism Religion and Crusades

Explore Beeston Castle and imagine what life was like defending it in the medieval period. Enhance learning with an expert-led FORTRESS CASTLE Discovery Visit workshop, perfect for KS2, to investigate the history of the castle through costume, role play and handling objects.

Biology School Trip

Living things and habitats

Surrounded by Woodland Park, Beeston is an ideal location to study living things and their habitats. As you walk through the woodland trail, look out for different plants, habitats and microhabitats.

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, registered in England.