1620s House & Garden at Donington le Heath

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What will students see and do?

For UK school trip ideas, one of the oldest houses in Leicestershire should be on your list. Donington le Heath Manor House caters for primary school trips and secondary school visits, with a diverse range of events, family activities and school sessions that reach out to audiences locally and nationally.

The Heritage Education Team delivers a number of learning sessions at the 1620s House and Garden and at its sister site, Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre. The sessions are delivered by a diverse and skilled team of re-enactors and museum educators; they are aimed at groups and have strong links across the curriculum. The sessions include role play, real artefacts, object handling, film, dressing up and crafts, and they interpret two of the biggest events in history: the Gunpowder Plot and the War of the Roses.

How does the trip link to the curriculum?

As a Tudor manor house, Donington le Heath offers plenty of educational activities for kids of all ages. For educational visits focusing on Tudor history as part of curriculum learning, the manor house acts as a living history museum, covering topics such as Tudor medicine, Tudor Christmas, and the Gunpowder Plot for kids. You can also learn about the Battle of Bosworth at its sister site, the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre: both educational school trips are guaranteed to create some of the best days out in Leicestershire.

For Early Years learning, the session ‘Traditional Tales in the Tudor Manor’ is ideal. Costumed characters use a traditional story to inspire the pupils to explore the house, focusing on the differences and similarities of houses today and in the past, while improving their literacy skills. The children will participate in everyday household tasks, learn about the fabric of the building and handle many historical Tudor period objects to investigate their use.

Key Stage 1 students can explore the Gunpowder Plot from the point of view of a wealthy Catholic family: the Digbys, who hid their religious practices in a protestant country ruled by James I. Students can also meet some of the plotters, and watch them use real cannons. For a festive Tudor Christmas session, Mistress Carter, the housekeeper, welcomes the group and teaches the children to prepare the presents and engage in Christmas traditions. Students help Mistress Carter make sweet treats before gathering together for the wassail cup ceremony and the mummer’s play, performed by the students.

In addition to Key Stage 1 activities, Key Stage 2 children can learn about the different diseases and illnesses that were once common in Tudor or Stuart England, and learn about their different remedies. Students can make an amulet to ward off disease, and explore the past using household objects and herbs from the garden. They can also take part in a herb quiz, discover the secrets within the garden and play a medicine game.

For more information on further Key Stage activities, please call for details.