London Art & Design School Day Trips & Tours

The world’s largest collection of decorative and applied arts. Some areas focus on the history of costume and are of particular interest to pupils studying textiles. The holdings of ceramics, glass, costumes, jewellery, furniture, sculpture, prints and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world.

An outstanding collection of Old Masters from the early Renaissance to 1900. A collection of Old Masters’ works from the early Renaissance onwards. The five floors and wings are arranged chronologically, making it easy for your pupils to track artistic progression. Examples include Giotto, Duccio, and many more.

If you're visiting the National Gallery this year, celebrate the museum's bicentenary with NG200 - a year-long festival bursting with art, creativity and imagination.

One of the biggest temporary art exhibition centres in the world. The gallery has a reputation for presenting a diverse range of landmark exhibitions, casting new perceptions on prominent, established artists, and providing a platform for works of up-and-coming art and artists. The Hayward develops ideas and encourages critical discussions.

Contemporary art by largely unseen UK artists and established international artists rarely exhibited in the UK. The Saatchi Gallery acts as a launchpad for lesser-known artists and houses brave, contemporary art. Well-proportioned rooms with high ceilings showcase works famed for courting media controversy and gaining extremes of critical reaction. This gallery is ideal for challenging more traditional ways of thinking.

An independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and Architects. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate.

Britain’s spectacular museum of modern and contemporary international art. Themes include landscapes, environment, still life, action, and the body. The viewing level offers awe-inspiring 360ᵒ views of the London skyline from high above the River Thames, whilst The Tanks celebrate new art and showcase performances, interactive art and video installations.

Tate Britain holds the national collection of British art from 1500 to present and, following the recent huge renovation project, now boasts a totally chronological ‘walk through’ of works so that you can now get a rich cross- section of British art by era. You’ll find masterpieces by Gainsborough, Hogarth, Millais, Whistler, as well as outstanding modern and contemporary artists such as Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Damien Hirst. The world’s largest collection of works by JMW Turner is also held here.

A touchstone for contemporary art internationally. For over a century the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered world-class artists from modern masters such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to contemporaries such as Sophie Calle, Lucian Freud, Gilbert & George and Mark Wallinger. The Gallery is a touchstone for contemporary art internationally, plays a central role in London’s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of the world’s most vibrant contemporary art quarter.

Let your pupils develop their sketchbooks in this bustling area of London. Here, they can draw inspiration from the many street performers and passers-by. A great way to inject new life into exam prep work!

Take a 21st century approach to embedding technology learning in school, and introduce your students to the world of 3D printing where a solid object of virtually any shape can be created from a digital model. 

In our Introduction to 3D Printing workshop, students will get hands on with 3D computer modelling and see designs turned into real life on a 3D printer. All students will receive a certificate of attendance and will take away a 3D printed item too.

Other workshops include:

Understanding 2D and 3D
Create 2D and 3D shapes through designing a house in Sketchup. Look at the difference between a 2D representation of the shape and the 3D model itself. What is a plan and how would an architect use 2D and 3D shapes to represent their project?

Natural Geometries 
Create simple shapes like triangles, squares and arcs. And through learning simple ideas such as angles and rotation, turn these shapes into amazing nature-like structures such as snowflakes and shells.

For maths groups, we can also offer full day workshops at The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park combining a tour of Bletchley Park, a visit to Colossus (the first electronic computer) and a hands-on processing or 3D printing workshop.

The Old Street, Spitalfields and Shoreditch areas have become London’s capital of street art. There’s a dazzling array of images to see, and the great thing is the art is continually changing. You’ll visit the well-known street art spots and see favourite spots that are a little off the beaten street art tourist track. You’ll learn something about Banksy too.

Charles Dickens lived in this house - now museum - from 1837 until 1839 and wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby whilst living here. This museum offers pupils the chance to experience what Dickens’ home would have been like, as well as learn more about the life and works of the great novelist and social commentator. Here, you will find one of the most important collections of his artefacts in the world. Every museum visit also includes an opportunity to explore the house following a self-guided activity worksheet.

The Author’s Craft Workshop 
This taught manuscript workshop looks at how Dickens crafted his work. Pupils understand how texts relate to the social and historical context in which they were written and learn to shape meaning and evaluate ideas and effect in their own writing. The workshop will culminate in a new collaborative manuscript based around a particular setting or theme.

The London Dungeon has been delighting audiences for over 40 years and brings together an amazing cast of theatrical actors, special effects, scenes and rides in an exciting walk-through experience that lets you see, hear and smell historic London and its perilous past. Get pupils thinking about spoken language and stage directions as they review script writing and explore the physical creation of a show as they look at the design process, including room layout, make-up and costume design and highlight the importance of historical accuracy in relation to topic, characters and set design. 

Take your group on a self guided visit to the Design Museum, to view designs from around the world including architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, product and transport. Design is a continually evolving subject which the Design Museum explores through its exhibitions programme, permanent collection, learning and research activities.

The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London in 1971, and was the first independent gallery in Britain that was devoted entirely to photography. It is the leading centre for contemporary and historical photography with 3 exhibition spaces.

In the camera obscura workshops, students will explore the history and science of photography using The Photographers’ Gallery’s own camera obscura. After experimenting with the camera obscura room, students will take part in a practical activity, working in pairs create their own hand-held pinhole camera obscuras. In the workshop, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the science behind how a camera obscura works,
and its applications throughout history
• Work collaboratively to make functioning hand-held camera obscuras
• Explore different ways of capturing images using the camera obscure

For camera obscura workshops, it is useful for pupils to bring cameras (iPads, phones, compact cameras, DSLRs) for the practical assignments. Pupils can share cameras in pairs or small groups.

Visual Literacy workshops are led by a photographer-educator, and centre around an exhibition currently on show at the gallery.
Students take part in group discussion, image analysis and practical assignments responding to themes in the exhibition, all aimed at improving visual literacy. In the workshop, students will:

• Consider the formal elements and vocabulary used to describe photographs
• Explore how ideas, feelings and meanings are conveyed and interpreted
through images
• Reflect on how the context of an image shapes how we read it
• Develop an understanding of the term visual literacy

For Visual Literacy workshops, it is useful for pupils to bring cameras (iPads, phones, compact cameras, DSLRs) for the practical assignments. Pupils can share cameras in pairs or small groups.

The ArcelorMittal Orbit is the perfect destination for persons of any age! You will be able to admire breath-taking views of London from the UK's tallest sculpture, from stunning viewing platform with floor to ceiling windows & from the outside observation walkways suspended 80m above the ground. You will also experience the adrenaline of riding the world's tallest, longest and fastest tunnel slide of 178 metres length. You will travel through light and dark sections, loops and gentle curves at a speed of up to 15 miles per hour!