History school trips and tours to London: A dive into British history

After a major redevelopment, the museum features groundbreaking WWI Galleries which will present the story - how it started, why it continued and its global impact - through the lives of those who experienced it on both the front line and the home front. The Witness to War atrium displays iconic larger objects including a Harrier, Spitfire and V2 rocket suspended from above.

A rich learning resource for students in Years 9-13, visits include an orientation session to help prepare and focus students, a visit to the galleries and a feedback session to help students reflect on what they have learned.

Visit the Churchill War Rooms which Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet used during air raids. Explore the historic rooms to experience secret history and discover the stories of those who worked underground as London was bombed above them.

Discover the stories behind this warship from WWII and beyond. Imagine sleeping in one of the tightly packed hammocks during duties in Arctic waters, or being stationed deep in the bowels of the ship when she opened fire in support of Allied troops on D-Day.

This two hour session takes place in a working court room and around the courts. Students will be introduced to the Royal Courts of Justice and prepare and enact a trial based on a real historical case. They will then discuss and debate real historical sentencing options and compare these to sentencing options in the present day. Trials include a conscientious objector during WWI, a trial deciding whether forcing slaves to leave the country should be made illegal or a suffragette arrested for malicious damage.

Understand the nature of surgery before the barriers of infection and pain had been overcome with the reconstruction of an early 19th century operation. Also covers the role, status and training of surgeons before the advances in surgery and medical training in the later 19th century.

The Hunterian Museum includes the display of over 2,000 anatomical preparations from surgeon and anatomist John Hunter’s original collection, alongside instruments, equipment, models, paintings and archive material which trace the history of surgery from ancient times to the latest robot-assisted operations. The Museum includes England’s largest public display of human anatomy.

St Mary’s Hospital is home to the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum. As well as seeing Fleming’s laboratory, restored to its 1928 condition, students can explore the story of Fleming and debate his precise role in the development of penicillin.

Helping students to examine the role of Nightingale in the development of training for nurses and standards of care in hospitals, groups can see how the status of nurses was transformed, as well as how Nightingale’s work showed a new approach to the day to day running of hospitals. Why not use our worksheets to focus your group in the museum? 

During your visit you will be given a short talk outside the Royal Courts of Justice before listening to a court hearing in a criminal appeal. Your group will then be taken to Lincolns Inn, where many of the country’s top barristers have their chambers. The tour finishes at the Old Bailey where your group will be given a talk about the history of the court.

During an educational tour of this unique and medieval prison, your group will have the opportunity to handle original historical torture artefacts relating to crime and punishment used in the prison, witness the terrible conditions of the time, and learn of the prison’s involvement in many major events through audio and visual presentations and the colourful narrative provided by your guide. Self-guided visits are also available.

Develop an understanding on the nature of authority and attitudes to crime and punishment in the early modern period with our school trips to the Tower of London. An ideal opportunity for a more in-depth study of Guy Fawkes and his attempt to destroy the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

This fascinating session begins with a look at the events happening in Nazi-occupied Europe leading up to the outbreak of World War II. Your students will study telegrams, radio intercepts and reports received by the Foreign Office between 1938 and 1944 and will learn about how the events in Nazi-occupied territories unfolded.

The Wiener Library is one of the world’s leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust and Nazi era. Formed in 1933, the Library’s unique collection of over a million items includes published and unpublished works, press cuttings, photographs and eyewitness testimony. 

Workshops can be booked covering a variety of themes relating to the Nazi era and genocide, including prejudice and discrimination, propaganda and genocide, and resistance and rescue. In addition, talks can be arranged on themes including Jewish refugees to Britain, the Kindertransport scheme, Kristallnacht and the genocide against the Roma. 

Visit the National Army Museum and find out how Britain’s past has helped to shape our present and future. Discover the impact our Army has had on the story of Britain, Europe and the world, and see how the actions of a few can affect the futures of many.

Why was 19th century Whitechapel so difficult to police?  Using original documents from our collection, students will explore the key features of Whitechapel in the 19th century to uncover why this area was such a challenge for the Metropolitan Police. Students will also discover how the police sought to overcome these challenges, from dressing as women to developing silent footwear, in their bid to rid Whitechapel of Jack the Ripper.

A morning talk at the Viaduct Tavern opposite the Old Bailey, which includes a hot drink and a croissant. Hear about the fascinating history of the Old Bailey, and the places of interest around it, such as the pub where wealthy people rented rooms to get the best view of the public executions and an exclusive view of the old Newgate Prison gaol cells. Afterward, we can direct you straight to the most interesting cases on at the Old Bailey that day. For schools, colleges and universities, a special teachers’ information pack is available which includes a history of the Old Bailey and an Old Bailey timeline. 

This session is held in Europe’s oldest surviving operating theatre, where hundreds of surgeons would have once gathered and learnt their trade by watching the various surgical procedures that took place. Your group will experience the atmosphere of this uniquely evocative space, as museum staff reconstruct an operation before the arrival of anaesthesia and antiseptics. 

This stimulating session allows active exploration of curriculum subjects in relation to real historic artifacts. It specifically designed for KS4/5 students studying GCSE History, covering Edexcel: Medicine through time, c12 50-present. AQA: Health and the People.

Take a walking tour of London to discover medical issues and advances over the years.  Tours can be tailored to cover themes such as Public Health, Plagues or Cholera.

Choose from two Black History guided walking tours in the city led by Anne-Marie Walker, a qualified Blue Badge Guide:

Gold, ivory and slaves - the commodities on which the City of London was built - starting at St Paul’s Cathedral and ending at Bank Station, this walking tour includes the history of black people in England from Roman times; members of the Royal family who were involved in the slave trade; the famous Trial of the Zong at Guildhall;  Livery companies; Shakespeare and Black activists and the powerhouses - Bank of England, Royal Exchange and Mansion House. 

The Hidden Black History of the City of Westminster - based on Black people who were involved behind the scenes in many historic events and institutions, this guided walking tour covers the Black sailors at the Battle of Trafalgar; Mary Seacole and the Crimean War; the Metropolitan Police - Leroy Logan; the Life Guards and the Queen’s Black Equerry and Buckingham Palace and the Black Queens. This tour starts at Trafalgar Square and ends at Buckingham Palace.  

Both walking tours last approximately 1.5 - 2 hours.

Anne-Marie Walker lives in London with her family who had emigrated from the West Indies.  She has worked in the tourism industry in Spain and Europe for over 20 years and is a qualified College Lecturer teaching A-Level Business Studies and BTEC Travel and Tourism courses.  

The Migration Museum explores how the movement of people to and from Britain across the ages has made us who we are today, both as individuals and as a nation. Migration is a pressing contemporary issue and is at the centre of polarised political and online debate. But there’s an underlying story of comings and goings stretching back many centuries. And this story goes to the heart of who we are today. Britain has thousands of museums, but none comprehensively focused on this important theme that connects us all.

The Migration Museum also offers educational workshops and tours of their exhibitions in their current home in the heart of Lewisham Shopping Centre. 

Black Cultural Archives is the only national heritage centre dedicated to collecting, preserving and celebrating the histories of African and Caribbean people in Britain.

The archives offer a range of educational workshops including:

Windrush Journeys – KS2+ History
Pupils will explore the aspirations, experiences, and legacies of the Caribbean communities who were part of the post-war journey to Britain. Through immersive activities and object handling, pupils will develop greater insight into the challenges that Caribbean people faced and overcame in Britain, and the positive impact they have made on our laws and culture. Content delivered will be appropriate to age and study level of pupils.

Uprisings – KS2, 3 & 4 History
This workshop looks at discriminatory policing of the 1970s and 80s which led to uprisings in Brixton and around the country in 1981 and 1985. Pupils examine a variety of sources including oral histories, national and local newspapers, and the papers of the Brixton Defence Campaign to understand how reporting styles affect our responses. 

British Black Power – KS3,4 & 5 History
This workshop gives students the opportunity to access primary documents from the archive related to the work of four key Black Power organisations: the Universal Coloured People’s Association, the Black Panther Movement, the Black Unity and Freedom Party, and the Black Liberation Front. Examining key events, such as the trial of the Mangrove 9 and the Spaghetti House Siege, this workshop situates the British Black Power movement in the context of 1960s-70s racism, including Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech and the rise of the National Front.

This guided walking tour, led by qualified Blue Badge Guide Anne-Marie Walker, is ideal for students studying the Historic Environment element of the Edexcel 'Migrants in Britain' option for their GCSE History. Your expert guide will take you around the well-known area of Notting Hill - along the route, you will learn about the reasons for Caribbean migration to Notting Hill, the influence of Caribbean cultures on the area, the Notting Hill Riots (1958), Black activism and the development of the Notting Hill Carnival.   

The walking tour last approximately 1.5 - 2 hours.

Anne-Marie Walker lives in London with her family who had emigrated from the West Indies.  She has worked in the tourism industry in Spain and Europe for over 20 years and is a qualified College Lecturer teaching A-Level Business Studies and BTEC Travel and Tourism courses.  

Perfect for GCSE and A level history groups wishing to support their study of migration and / or linked historic environment topics,  NST offer an exclusive guided walking tour of Spitalfields, East London with our own NST educationalist guide. This interactive tour can also be tailored to introduce younger pupils to these themes.  

The walking tour will allow students to trace the development of the Spitalfields area as Huguenot, Irish, Jewish, Bangladeshi and Somali communities have, at different times, made this area their home. Groups will be able to visit around 20 sites which tell the story of migration to the area during the past 500 years including the Sandy Row Synagogue, the Jewish Soup Kitchen,  and a short distance away, the Cable Street Mural. 
Students will also use residential, recreational, retail, industrial and religious buildings in the area to help them build their knowledge of life for migrants in the area. 

The famous Brick Lane, lined with long established curry houses and bagel bakeries, provide the opportunity for food tastings and relaxation as the tour reaches its conclusion.  

A 60 minute workshop exploring how the cathedral survived the Blitz and still serves the city as a venue for remembrance and reconciliation. Students will be taught the Fire Watchers drill by a volunteer fire watcher and are taken on a journey around the Cathedral, being shown where bombs fell and demonstrated how to deal with the dreaded Incendiary bomb and gas mask.

Take an exhilarating outdoor climb over the O2 roof and enjoy the incredible views of London. Downloadable educational resources are also available.

Day 1 - Morning departure - visit The Royal Courts of Justice for a two-hour session to experience debating real cases. Check into accommodation. Whitechapel Crime, Policing & the Inner City walking tour in the evening.

Day 2 - Morning visit to the Clink Prison Museum before departing for your return journey to school.

Prices for this itinerary start from £229pp

Day 1 - Morning departure – visit the Florence Nightingale Museum to learn about Nightingale’s approach to healthcare. Check into accommodation. Jack the Ripper walking tour in the evening.

Day 2 - The Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum. Visit The Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret. 
Depart for return journey to school.

Day 1 - Morning departure – visit Henry VIII’s favourite palace Hampton Court Palace and take part in a hands-on learning session. Enjoy an evening performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Day 2 - Learning more about Tudor London at the Museum of London’s permanent exhibition on Medieval London. Visit the Tower of London where Anne Boleyn was taken through traitors’ gate and executed. 
Depart for return journey to school.

Additional day:
Visit to Greenwich, a popular destination with the Tudor Royal family. Visit the Old Royal Naval College where the Palace of Placentia once stood. Thames river cruise in the evening.

Day 1 - Morning departure – visit the RAF Museum to cover introduction to planes and bombs used during WWII. Check into accommodation. West End show in the evening.

Day 2 - Visit The Battle of Britain Bunker for overview of the Battle of Britain. Take a walking tour of London Bomb Sites - walk from Tower of London to St Paul’s Cathedral to see bomb sites and damage. Views from Stone Gallery of St Pauls Cathedral to compare and contrast rebuilt areas of the city. Evening leisure activity.

Day 3 - Visit the Imperial War Museum - explore key moments of the WW2 through people’s lives and the objects on display. Depart for return journey to school.

Day 1 – Morning departure – Visit the Second World War and The Holocaust Galleries at IWM London which tells the global story of this devastating conflict and the individual stories of those murdered in the Holocaust. Evening showing of the play Leopoldstadt - a story of a Jewish family in Vienna across six decades.

Day 2 - Visit the Churchill War Rooms to walk the labyrinth of rooms and corridors that stretch below Westminster and hear stories of conflict. Depart London and en-route back to school visit Bletchley Park - the historic site where secret British code breaking activities took place during WWII.

Other visits options:

• Jewish Museum Workshop
• The Wiener Holocaust Library 
• HMS Belfast 
• The National Army Museum 

Day 1 - Morning departure from school.  Meet guide for a tour of Notting Hill to learn about the reasons for Caribbean migration to this area and the influence of the community; the groups will also learn about the riots and activism originating in the area.  Meal and West End Show (Hamilton or Six are great options for history groups!) in the evening

Day 2 - Morning - take an exclusive guided walking tour of Spitalfields, East London. This will allow students to trace the stories of the Huguenot, Jewish and Bangladeshi communities in particular who at different times made this area their home. Groups will be able to see the Bevis Marks Synogogue - the oldest in Europe, the Jewish Soup Kitchen and a short distance away, the Cable Street Mural. Students will also use residential, recreational, industrial and religious buildings in the area to help them build their knowledge of life for migrants in the area.  The famous Brick Lane, lined with long established curry houses and bagel bakeries, provide the opportunity for food tastings and relaxation as the tour reaches its conclusion.

Afternoon: Possible visits include an interactive workshop at the Migration Museum or an exploration of the galleries at the Museum of London, Docklands, where students will be helped to uncover the stories of the migrant communities who settled around the port here. Groups may wish to end the day with a visit to the nearby 2012 Olympic Park in Stratford, with a chance to tour the stadium, or ride the slide at ArcelorMittal Orbit!

Other visit options include:

• Workshop at Black Cultural Archives
• Museum of London
• Sandy Row synagogue