Victorian School Trips

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.