Field Studies Council – Flatford Mill

What will students see and do?

Students can enjoy a range of outdoor learning activities during a school residential trip or day trip to the Field Studies Council’s Flatford Mill site.

The venue is located in Constable country in the beautiful Dedham Vale on the Essex-Suffolk border. Grounds include woodland, a wildlife pond and River Stour frontage. This is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the perfect setting for a host of outdoor activities that provide fun challenges for kids for a feel-good school trip.

There is a huge range of opportunities for all students, from personal growth and wellbeing activities, to core subjects including science, geography and environmental science.

Courses are aimed at getting students involved in the natural world and encouraging them to take part in adventure activities outdoors in a healthy environment.

Younger visitors at all levels of primary education will build confidence and self-esteem while discovering good communication skills through fun games, activities and challenges.

Students will take part in a range of back-to-nature activities all geared towards helping them to learn about the natural world: exploring woodland and learning about habitats, identifying types of trees, and finding out how to identify a plant.

Plus, there is a range of adventure-based activities such as building a shelter and learning how to trail and track. There’s even an opportunity to experience living like Iron Age people and to find out interesting facts about the Stone Age and how these hunter-gatherers lived.

Opportunities for secondary students are linked to the national curriculum, and involve outdoor fieldwork all led by qualified tutors.

The aim is for students to spend as much time as possible outside the classroom and in the open air, learning important life skills alongside curriculum-based work.

The area surrounding the historic Flatford Mill provided settings for a number of Constable paintings, and the Mill is best known for its starring role in the Haywain painting. Residential students stay in one of the historic buildings – Willy Lott’s Cottage, Valley Farm – a great hall built in the mid-1400s, or the Mill itself.

Details of risk assessment

FSC centres have stringent health and safety policies. Flatford Mill has a Safety Shield Health and Safety Award and holds a Learning Outside the Classroom quality badge. It also has a 5* Food Hygiene rating.

More information about FSC health and safety policies can be found on the Field Studies Council homepage.

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