Below, you’ll find an example of one of our most popular itinerary choices, but we can tailor-make yours from scratch to meet your exact requirements...

London - 2 days from £95pp*

Travelling in October 2012. Price includes executive coach transport from & to school & throughout your stay, 1 night's bed & breakfast accommodation at YHA Thameside, group travel insurance and a generous free place ratio of 1 in 8.

And then add our most popular itinerary package below for £42pp*

Our Most Popular Visits in London for School Theatre & Drama Trips

Here are some of our most popular visits in London for English, Drama, Theatre and Performing Arts groups. We can tailor-make an itinerary to your exact needs.  Call 0845 688 8988 to create your itinerary from scratch today.

West End Shows

Our ability to deliver tickets for the very best shows, even in times of high demand, makes us the number one choice for London theatre visits. Our dedicated in-house theatre team and our links with the best ticket providers means we’ll be able to reserve your first choice tickets.  Our most popular shows for English, Drama, Theatre and Performing Arts groups include:

War Horse

This epic is based on the celebrated novel by the Children’s Laureate (2003-05) Michael Morpurgo. Actors working with magnificent, life-sized puppets by the internationally renowned Handspring Puppet Company lead us on a gripping journey through history.

Wicked

The untold story of the Witches of Oz. The spectacular production and incredible story inspires discussion about propaganda, tolerance, bullying and friendship.

The Lion King

A spectacular visual feast, this adaptation of Disney’s much loved film transports audiences to a dazzling world that explodes with glorious colours, stunning effects and enchanting music.

Download a Show Guide

Click here to download our current show guide which includes information on dozens of current and upcoming shows for theatre groups visiting London.

Theatre Workshops

NST Stage School Workshops

NST Stage School’s workshops are delivered by qualified teaching artists (so you can get involved too) and can be tailored to your chosen show, as well as your curriculum requirements. Most workshops also include a 30 minute Q&A session with a West End performer.

Stage Combat (1½ Hours)

A fun and interactive session that culminates in students creating their own combat sequence. Heightens focus, safety, and listening skills.

Making a Scene (1½ Hours)

Highly interactive! Your group will bring a chosen text to life by building characters and performance through improvisation. Designed to encourage bold and creative acting choices.

Step By Step (1½ Hours)

Put their dance moves to the test in this spectacular master class with a professional dancer. Your group will interpret choreography, and explore different styles of dance.

Song in Performance (1½ Hours)

Work with a West End musical director or performer to enhance singing technique on a song of your choosing! Students will learn how to act through song and develop vocal ability whilst discovering techniques to use song as a dramatic vehicle in musical performance.

West End 101 (1½ Hours)

Involve your students in storytelling exercises, and introduce them to the history of the West End and professional theatre.

Puppetry Now! (1½ Hours)

Learn some of the creative uses of puppetry and explore the basic techniques of puppet performance. This is an ideal workshop to combine with a performance of War Horse.

West End Walking Tour (1 – 1 ¼ Hours)

Join our specialist and enthusiastic West End Guide to explore London’s magical theatre district, which dates as far back as 1576 and has many tales to tell. Find out what the longest running plays and musicals are, delve into London’s most haunted theatres, and discover which of the world’s most famous actors have appeared in plays in the West End.

Central School of Speech & Drama Workshops

These workshops have been designed specifically for NST by this well-known London drama school, and can be tailored to your exact educational requirements.

Working as a Performer in Soap (2 Hours)

During this workshop students will meet an actor who has worked on a TV or radio soap opera. They will have the opportunity to find out how the process of making the soap occurs and take part in a Q&A session with the actor. Students will also explore an extract of a soap script and give a short presentation about how they would want to realise it. They will be encouraged to give consideration to audience, plot, and camera angles and present their ideas to the group.

Musical Theatre (2 Hours)

This interactive lecture encourages students to analyse extracts from musicals and conclude what makes a good performance. They will also meet with a professional to find out how the industry works.

Stanislavski (2 Hours)

Your group will undertake a practical exploration of psychophysical acting. Through meeting a professional actor, they will learn how this technique is applied and consider the Stanislavski method as it was and as it is today.

Shakespeare’s Globe

Shakespeare’s Globe Productions

With the World Shakespeare Festival taking place in 2012, now is a great time to book your tour. Thirty-seven plays will be performed in thirty-seven languages, and the festival looks to celebrate how the world performs, teaches and engages with Shakespeare:

The Comedy of Errors (1 June – 4 July 2012)

Twelfth Night (5 June – 5 July 2012)

The Tempest (9 June – 5 July 2012)

Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad (28 – 30 June 2012)

Globe 2012 Theatre Season - The Play's the Thing

Opening on 7 June, The Play's the Thing season commences with an exciting new production of Henry V, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, and follows with new productions of The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III and Twelfth Night.

Henry V (7 June - 26 August 2012)

Shakespeare's masterpiece of the turbulence of war and the art of peace tells the romantic story of Henry's campaign to recapture the English possessions in France. But the ambitions of this charismatic king are challenged by a host of vivid characters caught up in the real horrors of war.

The Taming of the Shrew (23 June - 13 October 2012)

Shakespeare's most outrageous comedy, The Taming of the Shrew introduces one of theatre's great screwball double-acts, a couple hell-bent on confusing and outwitting each other right up to the play's equivocal and controversial conclusion.

Richard III (14 July - 13 October 2012)

Monstrous, but theatrically electric, Richard is Shakespeare's most charismatic, self-delighting villain, revelling at every moment in his homicidal, hypocritical journey to absolute power.

Twelfth Night (22 September - 14 October 2012)

Shipwrecked on the shores of a strange land, Viola believes her twin brother Sebastian drowned. Disguising herself as a boy to work in the court of Count Orsino, she finds herself a go-between for the man she serves and the woman who refuses to love him.

Hamlet (11 June - 1 September 2012)

Learning of the king his father's death, Hamlet comes home to find his uncle married to his mother and installed on the Danish throne. At night, the ghost of the old king demands that Hamlet avenge his'foul and most unnatural murder'. Hamlet encompasses political intrigue, obsession, philosophical reflection, violent action, traic depth and wild humour.

Tour & Exhibition

An audio guide will take your students on a journey which explores the history of London and play-going during Shakespeare's lifetime, Elizabethan clothing and cosmetics, the design of the Globe Theatre, and aspects of performance today, from prop-making to stage combat. Highlights from recent Globe Theatre performances are included in the tour. Your group will also receive entry to the informative exhibition to explore the life of Shakespeare, the London where he lived, and the theatre for which he wrote. Interactive displays and live demonstrations will help your group learn about costume and clothing, special effects music, printing and publishing.

Half-Day Interactive Workshop (includes Tour & Exhibition)

This ‘In Shakespeare’s Playhouse’ workshop sets your chosen Shakespeare play in its social, historical and theatrical context, ready for further classroom study. Particularly suitable for students preparing for GCSE, although A-level and Key Stage 3 workshops are also available. Your workshop will be tailored to a Shakespeare play of your choice. An interactive lecture and tour are also available.

Rose Theatre Tour

A chance for your students to experience theatre in a completely different way! Take our exclusive guided tour of London’s most historic theatre, home to many of Shakespeare’s first productions. Dating back to 1587 and rediscovered in 1989, the site is still being excavated. A tour here will give your students a further insight into Shakespeare’s life and inspire your young actors.

Backstage Tours

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane

Through the Stage Door is the UK’s first interactive theatre tour! History is brought to vivid life through key characters, writers and actors from the theatre’s 300 year past.

National Theatre

Go backstage at Britain’s largest theatre complex to discover the secrets behind bringing productions to the stage. Your group will get exclusive access to unseen parts of the building, including the workshops where sets and props are created, on a tour led by an experienced and enthusiastic guide.

Les Misérables Backstage Tour

Step behind-the-scenes of this show, one of the longest running in West End history!

The Phantom's Lair

Students can view the fascinating stage re-set of The Phantom of the Opera and take part in a Q&A with a company or crew member.

Royal Opera House

Visit the backstage and the front of house areas as the Royal Opera House prepares to open its doors for an evening performance. Your group will enjoy an introduction to the colourful history of this theatre, its magnificent backstage technology and redevelopment.

Leisure Visits & Attractions

EDF Energy London Eye

For a fantastic bird’s eye view of England’s capital city, take a ride on the London Eye. Spot famed landmarks and take in the 30-mile panoramic view. Plus enjoy fantastic group prices with NST.

Madame Tussauds

See wax figures of historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars and even famous murderers! Entry price includes the ‘Chamber Live’ horror section, with both wax and real people! Guaranteed to delight and thrill your students. Don’t forget your camera!

Thames River Cruise

Take in London’s best-loved sights on this enjoyable cruise. Your students will gain an insight into the many layers of history that have built up along the river, from the Houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge to the EDF Energy London Eye.

Free Time

A trip to the capital isn’t complete without a little shopping time! We recommend Covent Garden as a suitable area for groups to explore and watch the street performers.

Highlights of London Guided Coach Tour

A Blue Badge expert guide will board your coach and really bring this extraordinary city to life for your group. We recommend a tour of the 2012 Olympic site.

Wembley Tour

Visit the new stadium and take a 90-minute tour. See England’s changing rooms, the players’ warm-up zone, VIP reception area, the Royal Box, dugouts, the post-match interview area, press conference room, treatment rooms and the Bobby Moore Statue. You can even ‘Lift the Cup’!

The British Music Experience

Based inside the O2 Arena, The British Music Experience is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of popular music in Britain using state-of-the-art effects and iconic memorabilia. This visit, ideal for KS3 and KS4 will deliver vital knowledge through a creative, engaging and stimulating environment. Workshops on ‘Pop Culture’ and ‘Behind the Scenes’ of what makes a pop star are available.

Other popular leisure visits and attractions include:

• London’s art galleries
• London Dungeons
• The Tower of London
• Theme Parks
• The Houses of Parliament
• Science Museum
• London Aquarium
• Natural History Museum

Below, you'll find some of our most popular accommodation options for school groups.

This is just a sample of our full range, so for full details of all properties available, please call 0845 688 8988 to speak to one of our Educational Travel Advisors today.

YHA Thameside

A purpose-built hostel offering clean accommodation.

YHA Thameside

This youth hostel offers basic accommodation and good facilities for groups at a very reasonable price.

Address 20 Salter Road Rotherhithe London SE16 5PR View map of location	Local Rating 2 star youth hostel
	Capacity 320 guests in 70 rooms over 4 floors.

Location Information

The hostel was opened in 1991 and is situated in a residential area on the South Bank of the River Thames, approximately 2 kilometres from the Tower of London, London Dungeons and Tower Bridge. A regular bus service runs to the hostel and a tube connection is possible at Canada Water, approximately 12 minutes’ walk from the hostel. The nearest over-ground station is Rotherhithe, which is approximately 5 minutes’ walk from the hostel.

View map

Download PDF datasheet

Accommodation Facilities

• Reception and night manager on duty
• Restaurant
• Café-bar with internet access
• Meeting/conference facilities
• Tourist information
• TV Lounge
• Vending machines
• Drinking fountains can be found on each floor
• Games machines
• Secure locker room
• 2 Lifts
• 2 Payphones
• CCTV
• Free coach parking nearby
• Disabled facilities: 2 rooms on each floor have been adapted for disabled use and have grab rails and shower seating in the bathrooms.  All areas of the hostel are wheelchair accessible.  Medication can be kept in a refrigerator.

 Student Rooms

• 4-8 bedded rooms
• En-suite facilities
• One locker per bed

 Staff Rooms

• It is YHA policy to allocate same sex staff in multi bedded rooms to ensure maximum occupancy (i.e.  4 female staff allocated four bedded room)
• En-suite facilities
• One locker per bed
• TV
• Tea & coffee-making facilities

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We can pre-book your meals at our great group prices to help your itinerary run smoothly. Popular options include:

• Planet Hollywood
• Hard Rock Cafe
• Rainforest Cafe
• Pizza Express
• Pizza Hut
• Maxwells
• Bella Italia
• Cafe Rouge
• McDonald's

Plus, we can even provide a choice of packed lunches for your group throughout their stay.