Victorian School Trips

Life in the Victorian era

How can schools book Victorian era visits in the UK?

Victorian trips include workhouses and inventions - exploring empire, reform, and daily life.

Take a look back at the Victorian period that lasted from 1837 until 1901; the reign of Queen Victoria I. This period was relatively peaceful and saw the country continue to prosper economically from the Industrial Revolution. A relatively recent period of our history, your class can learn about the Victorians through a number of popular workshop topics.

Give your class an authentic Victorian day with school lessons that take them back in time to the late 1800s to experience what their ancestors would have known. From strict maths and science lessons to playground games and toys. On a Victorian school trip, you may wish to visit a museum dedicated to the industrial revolution such as the factories and mills that produced goods like cotton.

Or take a closer look at Victorian crime and punishment - how the justice system worked and prisoners were treated. The Victorians was a time of great inventions, social reform, but also extremes of wealth and poverty.

Learn about significant individuals and their contributions, famous Victorians such as Florence Nightingale, Ada Lovelace, and the suffragettes. For those studying English, the works of Charles Dickens, writing in the Victorian period, bring together many of the above themes.

Whatever your topic, we have lots of in-school Victorian workshops for school groups at all Key Stages.

Find a school trip or workshop for the following Victorian topics: Charles Dickens, Childhood and Schools, Crime and Punishment, Factories and The Workhouse, Florence Nightingale, Industrial Revolution, Inventions, Queen Victoria, Railways, Suffragettes, Toys, Victorian Seaside, and more.

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Popular school trip September 2026 !

The Food Museum

East of England
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Farm, Food, History, Victorian

Enrich your pupils' understanding of the Victorian era with this Farm Labourer Learning Session. This session will explore the roles that children had in rural life. The session starts with a fun question and answer session about Victorian era objects from our handling-collection. Then, a member of ...

Victorians School Trips - Frequently Asked Questions

6 March 2026

Why choose Victorian trips?
Victorian trips are a great way to explore a fascinating period of change - think workhouses, inventions, and all the innovations that shaped modern life. It ties into the curriculum on the 19th century and is especially relatable through the lens of trains and transportation.

Victorian workshop or day trip visit?
We offer workshops for life that cost between £150 and £400, perfect for bringing history alive. For a more authentic experience, we recommend visiting actual sites, especially for Year 5, to give students a real sense of the era.

Are there any free Victorian options?
Absolutely! Many museums and galleries are free to visit, and local stations can be a great way to experience Victorian transport without extra cost.

What are the top 10 Victorian school trips?
Here's a quick list:

1. Black Country Museum
2. In-school Victorian workshops
3. Quarry Bank Mill
4. British Museum (Victorian section, free)
5. Ironbridge
6. National Railway Museum
7. Scottish Victorian sites
8. Welsh workhouses
9. Local museums
10. History festivals

Are Victorian trips suitable for SEND students?
Yes, many sites offer costumes and workshops that can be adapted to different needs. Many use role-play and other sensitive approaches to make sure everyone can participate and enjoy the experience.

What’s the budget for a Victorian trip?
If you're just doing museums and local transport, it can be quite affordable: around £3 to £10 per child. Entry to sites usually costs between £5 and £15, workshops from £150 to £400, and residential trips range from about £120 to £250 per child. It’s quite budget-friendly overall.

Empire, social class and the working poor

Explore the Victorian era through school trips to museums and historical sites. We have lots of day trip ideas such as, York Castle Museum, which offers insights into Victorian attitudes towards crime and punishment, while the National Railway Museum and Coal Mining Museum provide a deeper understanding of Britain's industrial progress during this period, together with the great advances in transportation from canals to railways. Visiting these locations allows students to engage with artifacts from the period and learn about key aspects of Victorian society from industrialisation and the concept of the workhouse, to advances in public health when fighting diseases like cholera.

School trips to local Victorian landmarks and heritage towns provide context to Victorian life. Trips to seaside resorts like Cromer or Swanage help students learn about Victorian tourism, architecture, and industry. Visits to historic houses like Osborne House or castles such as Raby Castle reveal insights into Victorian domestic life and aristocratic society. These outings offer out of the classroom learning, giving your children a new way of learning about Victorian culture, leisure, and technological progress across different regions of Britain.

During in-school workshops, children can participate in hands-on sessions like Victorian classrooms, where they will use slates and experience strict discipline. They could explore Victorian inventions, famous Victorians like Florence Nightingale or Queen Victoria herself, or role-play activities such as costumes and dressing up as Victorian workers or engaging in Victorian games. Try your hand at Victorian toy making or drama performances.

Victorian workshop activities will help your students understand the daily life, social class differences, and technological advances that made the Victorians notable. The engaging workshop experiences above have been designed for children of all key stages.

Day in the Life of a Victorian Child

By Emily, Year 5

A Victorian workshop came to visit and turned our classroom into a school from the 1800s. For a whole day, we got to go back in time and dress up like people from the Victorian days. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but it ended up being one of the best school days ever.

When we walked into the classroom in the morning, it looked totally different to normal. The desks had been moved into neat rows, there were slates on our desks and even our teacher had dressed up like a very strict schoolmistress. The person doing the workshop was dressed as a real Victorian teacher and he didn't smile at all. He told us that Victorian children had to be silent, sit up straight, and only speak when spoken to. And we had to stand up every time an adult entered the room!

We were split into boys and girls and we weren't allowed to sit together - just like in a real Victorian school. The boys practised handwriting and maths, and the girls learned sewing and posture. We also got to write on the slates with chalk. I found it tricky at first because I'm used to pencils and paper but it was fun to try something different. My hands were covered in chalk dust by the end of the lesson.

The most interesting part of the workshop was learning about how hard life was for children back then. We learned that some children our age didn't even go to school as the had to work in dangerous factories or as chimney sweeps instead of going to school. I felt quite shocked. Some even worked in coal mines where it was dark and dirty all day. It made me feel really lucky to go to school now rather than more than a hundred years ago.

We also looked at real Victorian toys, school books, and washing tools. I couldn't believe that children used to play with spinning tops and rag dolls made from scraps of fabric. They didn't have video games or iPads or anything with electricity - there was not even electricity in some houses! This was definitely my favourite lesson and I would say if my friends in another class gets the chance to do a Victorian workshop they should do it! You'll learn loads, and it's a brilliant way to learn about life for the Victorian children.

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Victorian School Trips

How can schools book Victorian era visits in the UK?

Want to book Victorian trips and workshops?

The Food Museum

Museum of Liverpool

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Outreach

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Victorians School Trips - Frequently Asked Questions

Empire, social class and the working poor

Day in the Life of a Victorian Child

By Emily, Year 5

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