Pendennis Castle

English Heritage School Trips

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

Help your class explore the history of Pendennis, from Tudor times to today, with one of our many ways to learn. Bring learning to life outside of the classroom. Children can explore and learn for themselves at a ‘real’ historical site, developing their enquiry skills and independence, as well as key historical knowledge.

Support your learning by taking it out of the classroom with a trip to Pendennis Castle.
KS1-3 History: Local History Study
KS1 History: Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality
KS2 History: Study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066
KS3 History: Development of Church, state and society in Britain 1066-1509 and 1509-1745, ideas, political power, industry and empire in Britain 1745-1901, and challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day
GCSE History: Study of the historic environment

Teacher Checklist

Risk Assessments
Inspection Visits
Free Places for Teachers
Resource Packs

What activities are available during group visits?

One of the finest of the mighty fortresses built by Henry VIII to defend the country against invasion, Pendennis Castle remains one of Cornwall's greatest fortresses. With over 400 years of defending Britain's coasts, and a range of ways to learn on-site, we've got everything you need to help you cover a wide range of cross-curricular topics.
Bring Pendennis Castle to life and let us lead a Discovery Visit for you. Our sessions have 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?

Curriculum topics available: Materials.

Use the ‘Build me a Fortress!’ activity in the Teachers’ Kit, available from the English Heritage website, to understand how the castle was built and the materials used, and then create your own model fortress back in the classroom.

Curriculum topics available: The Armada.

Explore this impressive fortress and imagine what life was like working for Henry VIII, or defending against the Parliamentarians during the Civil War. Download the free Teachers’ Kit from the English Heritage website for information and activity suggestions to help support your teaching before, during and after your visit. To enhance learning, book an expert-led Discovery Visit workshop:
• NOW AND THEN (KS1): Costumes and handling artefacts are used to introduce children to the idea of change through time as they compare their own life with that of people living in Tudor times. £100 per class, session lasts for 1¼ hours.
• ENEMIES ON THE HORIZON (KS2-3): This interactive guided tour explores the importance of Pendennis Castle in defending Cornwall from attack. Through exploring the site, your class will consider how defences and weaponry developed over time and what life was like for those working there. £100 per class, session lasts for 1¼ hours.

Curriculum topics available: War and the British Empire, The Home Front, D Day Landings and VE Day.

Explore the Half Moon Battery and discover the story of Pendennis during the Second World War. Use the activities in the free Teachers’ Kit available from the English Heritage website to support your teaching.

Curriculum topics available: Settlement and land use.

Why was a castle built at Pendennis? Use the ‘Falmouth’s Great Fortress’ activity in the Teachers’ Kit available from the English Heritage website to understand the geographical and strategic location of Pendennis Castle and St Mawes Castle.

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.

Anything else?

The Cornwall Heritage Trust offer funding for school transport to eligible schools. Find out more on our website and follow the link to an application form to see if you can cover the costs of transport on your trip to Pendennis.

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.