School trips in Somerset (and Bristol!)

The South West

With all schools very keen to broaden and enhance the learning opportunities and the social experience of their pupils, school study trips are high on the agenda. If your school is located in or near the South West of England, Somerset is a county well worth a visit.

With an extensive coastline to the north, and a large grassland interior, known as the Somerset Levels, this county is distinctly rural with a good helping of maritime. But for the sake of this article we are controversially featuring a couple of trips located in the urban centre of Bristol. We know that Bristol is not technically Somerset, but if you are in or near this county, then the short hop to the city may be well worth it, as we will discuss below.

While science, geography and even art have all taken centre stage over the years - the birth of powered flight, the birth of the National Parks and more recently the world famous Glastonbury Festival, it is impossible to overlook the immense cultural history of Somerset, woven in layer after layer of demographic history, and ripe for study by modern day school children. From the early hunter gathers who left their flints, through the Iron Age settlers and Roman invaders, to the Norman conquest and later civil war. Museums and exhibition centres provide a wide variety of study options.

Geographically speaking, the county of Somerset can be seen the northern part of the region known as the South West of England. Sitting to the south of the Severn Estury, Somerset is the gateway to Devon and Cornwall, and the South West Peninsula. County towns include Yeovil and Taunton to the south, Bridgwater in the centre and Weston-super-Mare to the north.

Please click the following link for our full list of visit options in the South West of England.

Farleigh Hungerford Castle

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. A visit to Farleigh Hungerford Castle is ideal for education groups of all ages and abilities, and with downloadable hazard information and free on-site resources, it’s easy to plan a visit with your group in mind....