Bringing the castle to the classroom with the Heritage Explorer

The ability to “engage pupils and bring learning to life” is cited by most teachers as the main reason to take pupils on school trips according to recent research from English Heritage. But for just under half the schools deterred from undertaking trips due to transport and other costs, online resources like English Heritage’s Heritage Explorer are considered by far the best substitutes.

The survey, carried out by SchoolZone and involving 206 primary schools and 492 secondary schools, showed that 18% of primary school respondents will cut back on school trips, with a significant number of teachers stating that their schools could not afford to pick up the shortfall in parental contributions. About 30% of primary schools offer three school trips a year for the whole school and most thought the number would remain the same because visits “provide an important part of the curriculum and a valuable educational experience”. But when asked what could best take their place if need be, online resources came top of the list.

”English Heritage has a long-standing reputation for creating outstanding resources for use in the classroom which are even more important in difficult economic times,” says English Heritage’s head of education and interpretation, Sandra Stancliffe. “We are seeing more and more schools using the resources in Heritage Explorer (free online whiteboard, learning activities and a bank of over 8,000 images) - it’s a great way to bring the castle to the classroom. Even those who can make regular trips find our image banks and curriculum-related resources vital to enrich classroom activities.

“We’d encourage all schools to look at the heritage sites they have on their own doorstep. English Heritage offers free admission to all its sites for self-led learning groups, and by staying local, transportation costs can be kept to an absolute minimum,” adds Sandra. “For those schools who will still struggle to make a visit for whatever reason, or who want to make the most of visits before and after they take place, the free resources at www.heritageexplorer.org.uk and www.english-heritage.org.uk/education will ensure a good introduction to our national history in a local context. With online resources the virtual doors to our historic sites remain open all day, every day. Indeed, the geographical location of our sites doesn’t matter – a school in Carlisle can visit Dover Castle, and be back in time for the school pick-up!”

For more information on free educational visits to English Heritage’s 400 sites throughout the country, please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/education

ENDS For further media information, please contact:
Jay Commins
PRO – English Heritage (Education)
Tel: 0113 251 5698
Email: jay@fim.org.uk