Bookings open at Stonehenge for new expert-led school workshops ahead of 2027 opening of its state-of-the-art learning facilities
– English Heritage has tailored its hands-on, multi-disciplinary ‘Discovery Visits’ to the National Curriculum for EYFS through to Key Stage 4 –
– The Kusuma Neolithic Hall is now welcoming school visits –
– The new Learning Centre will officially open after the 2027 February half-term –
English Heritage is delighted to announce that bookings are now open for school ‘Discovery Visit’ workshops taking place in its new educational facilitates at Stonehenge. The Learning Centre, which will officially open after the February half-term holiday next year, and the Kusuma Neolithic Hall, which is now open and welcoming school groups, will provide dedicated spaces for pupils to delve deeper into the stories, science and people behind the world’s most famous prehistoric monument.
The expert-led Discovery Visit programme has been carefully designed by English Heritage to offer teachers an opportunity to take learning beyond the classroom. Tailored specifically to pupils in Key Stages EYFS, 1, 2, 3 and 4, each session lasts for up to one and a half hours and will include fun and inspiring activities connecting the content of the National Curriculum with the people and landscape of Stonehenge.
Pupils will have the opportunity to get hands on with activities inspired by Stonehenge’s neolithic creators, like mixing pigment paints, making pottery and experimenting with the replica tools and materials that would have been used to construct the iconic stone circle.
English Heritage – in partnership with Dr. Fabio Silva, STEM Learning UK, LEGO, James Dyson Foundation, Lloyds Register Foundation and a number of local schools including Stonehenge School and Larkhill Primary – has developed the activities with a multi-disciplinary approach in mind. Using a heritage environment, workshops will engage pupils in subjects such as Science and Design & Technology. For example, school groups will be able to take a virtual tour of the night sky to see how it appeared to Neolithic people and create a “human” solar system, learning how Stonehenge acted as a calendar to mark the movements of the sun and seasons. The charity has seen an uptick in demand for STEM learning experiences in recent years, in line with the recent emphasis on STEM learning in the Department for Education’s new Enrichment Framework.
Sessions will take place outside in the World Heritage landscape, in the Learning Centre and in the Kusuma Neolithic Hall – the latter of which was constructed by volunteers using historically authentic methods and locally sourced materials and completed in May. The hall saw its first Discovery Visit take place on 14 September, with 23 pupils from a primary school in Wiltshire learning all about Neolithic skills.
The new Learning Centre, due to complete construction later this year, will house the Clore Discovery Lab, Weston Learning Studio, digital production studio, Wolfson Foyer and The Omaze Community Courtyard to support sensory learning. Facilities for schools will include a Changing Places space and a smaller breakout area for those with different educational needs.
Iona Keen, Head of Learning & Interpretation at English Heritage commented: “We’re thrilled to reach this next milestone of our project to transform our educational offering at Stonehenge. Around 12,000 pupils a year already take advantage of our existing Discovery Visits to Stonehenge, but the development of our learning spaces has given us the opportunity to redesign and broaden these sessions to make every schoolchild’s visit to this awe-inspiring site memorable and valuable. We’re eagerly looking forward to welcoming teachers and pupils from our official opening next year.”
Each Discovery Visit will incur a fee of up to £125 per session, however English Heritage will continue to offer entrance to Stonehenge – and the other 400 historic sites the charity cares for – to schools for free. Sessions can accommodate up to 30 pupils and must be booked in advance.
For more information and to secure your place in the Kusuma Neolithic Hall (available now) or new Learning Centre (from February 2027 onwards), please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/school-visits.
