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York History School Trips & Tours

A traditional school trip favourite destination, York is a unique and vibrant city offering a wide array of educational visits for history groups.

A history school trip to York will improve your students’ knowledge of, and interest in, England’s heritage. Visit York Minister, the largest Gothic Cathedral in Northern Europe, stroll down the Shambles, York’s oldest street and finish the day with a ghost walk in Europe’s most haunted city!  Students can walk along a Victorian street at York Castle Museum or take a trip to Eden Camp to be immersed in WW2 wartime England. 

For students studying Migration, the Jorvik Viking Centre is a must to learn about the Viking-age city of Jorvik and Viking life.  

 

Prices start from£299pp

Price Shown includes

  • 2 nights’ B&B accommodation
  • Executive coach transport from and to school and throughout your tour
  • Group travel insurance
  • 1 in 8 free place ratio

Price shown is based on 40 paying passengers departing from selected departure points and is subject to availability.


On-tour Support

On-tour support includes...

  • Pre-booked meals at great group prices
  • A choice of packed lunches for your group throughout your stay
  • Services of a local guide

Popular options in York


Top Visits

York Minster

This cathedral was built on what was the headquarters of a Roman fortress and is now seen as the jewel in the historical crown of York. 

Revealing York Minster in the Undercroft -  within the underground chambers of York Minster, is a new dynamic audio-visual and interactive experience where you can walk in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, discover dramatic events and more!

 

Barley Hall

Barley Hall, a stunning medieval house in the centre of York, offers an authentic Tudor encounter for your pupils. Workshops are available, including ‘Tudor Medicine’ and ‘Arms and Armour’.

Henry VII Experience at Micklegate Bar

Situated on the route of York’s famous walls walk, Micklegate Bar has stood sentinel to the city for over 800 years. Visit the ancient gateway to explore the pageantry and barbaric history that has unfolded between these walls through the centuries.
Find out about Henry VII’s early life as an exile Lancastrian heir to the throne, see the impact on the city of York as it continued to prosper throughout his reign and enjoy interactive experiences exploring life and death in Tudor times.

 

Jorvik Viking Centre

The Jorvik Viking Centre holds the preserved remains of houses, workshops and backyards of the Vikings from 1,000 years ago. Now reconstructed, this centre enables your pupils to experience life in Viking-Age York. Your pupils will encounter the old Norse speaking citizens, see inside their houses and back yards, experience a blast of smoke from blacksmith’s furnace and enjoy the smell of home-cooked stews.

Available workshops include Anglo-Saxon & Viking Costume, Anglo-Saxon & Viking Medicine, Viking Battle Tactics and Viking Saga.

National Coal Mining Museum

Visit the National Coal Mining Museum and explore the 45-acre site to discover the hidden world of mining through the centuries. The galleries show how miners lived, worked and relaxed, from the Victorian age through to modern day. A visit underground will let your pupils see how coal was extracted and moved to the surface.

Eden Camp

Experience the sights, sounds and smells of those dangerous years of WWII. Covering Britain since 1930, Eden Camp transports pupils back to wartime Britain via a series of wartime huts housing insightful displays.

National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum in York is home to over 300 years of history and over a million wonderful objects. Your pupils can marvel at iconic locomotives, watch engineering work in progress in the Workshop, browse object-filled Warehouse, and let off steam in the outdoor play area.

Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery is an unmissable new interactive experience for schools—where nothing is off limits. Recommended for KS2 and KS3 (ages 7-14).
Pupils will play their way through 18 interactive exhibits and fuel their curiosity with amazing live experiments. Test their engineering skills as they step into the human wind tunnel, launch a rocket and build big.

 

Brigantium Fort at Murton Park

Based around a fictional Roman frontier fort and its neighbouring Celtic village at Murton Park, the on-site Roman courses offer your pupils the chance to join the Roman Army. Arriving as new recruits drawn from a local Celtic tribe, your pupils will be taken to a turf and timber fort, issued with their uniforms and military equipment, and will experience first-hand the daily life of a Roman soldier.

Robin Hood’s Bay

An ideal and popular destination for group visits, where pupils can enjoy searching the rocky shore for current and Jurassic habitats. There is a wide range of wildlife on show, an exciting exhibition and education centre and pupils can even find and classify a fossil.

Scarborough Castle

Scarborough Castle has a 2,500 year history, stunning location and panoramic views over the dramatic Yorkshire coastline. It started life as an Iron Age Fort, was occupied by the Romans, became a Viking settlement and reached its heyday under Henry II. This royal stronghold, built by successive medieval kings over two centuries, has seen more than its fair share of conflict and sieges. Learn how it was fought over in the English Civil War and came under bombardment during WWI.

Whitby Abbey

Discover how over 1,500 years of history make this abbey one of England’s most important archaeological sites. You’ll find out what life was like through different ages, explore the modern day issues of restoring a ruined property and learn about the troubled history of the Abbey.

York Boat Cruise

Cruise on the picturesque River Ouse through the walled City of York. See for yourself where Saxons fought Vikings in 1066, where monks entertained their guests and where witches were ducked in the Middle Ages.

York’s Chocolate Story

Take your class on a fascinating, fully-guided tour and discover how chocolate made history in York. Explore the origins of cocoa, find out how to taste chocolate like an expert, have a go at our hands-on chocolate making station and enjoy live Chocolatier demonstrations. Pupils can also uncover a host of surprising secrets and fascinating facts behind York’s greatest chocolate products, from the Chocolate Orange to the world-famous KitKat.

Curriculum linked workshops are also available - call us for more information! 

York Castle Museum

Home to the world-famous recreated Victorian street, Kirkgate, and the York Castle Prison Experience, here your pupils will learn how people have lived over the past 300 years. The Education Department also offers a variety of workshops for KS2 / P4-7 including ‘The Victorian Classroom’, ‘York Prison’ and ‘Castle Life’.

Yorkshire Museum

The Yorkshire Museum has an excellent collection, reflecting York’s important Roman and medieval history, as well as a first-class natural history collection. The Education Department also offer workshops designed for KS2 / P4-7, based around Romans, Vikings, Tudors, Science and Art.

York Ghost Walk

This York ghost walk will take your pupils on an exciting tour of all the famous and infamous haunted sites throughout the ancient City. Your specialist guide will help you discover the secrets of York’s dark cobbled streets.


Evening activites

  • Bowling
  • Ghost Walk
  • Boat Cruise 

Study themes

GCSE

 

Edexcel

"Migrants in Britain, c800 - present"

"Anglo-Saxon and Norman England"

 

AQA

"Britain: Migration, empires and the people, c790 - present"

 

OCR

"Viking Expansion, c750-c1050"


Study Levels

KS3

GCSE

 

 


Transport

Available from any location in the UK, our executive coaches are fitted with seatbelts, toilet facilities, air conditioning, DVD and reclining seats.

Coach

Rail is a convenient travel option for small groups, ideal for connections to Eurostar, major airports and travel to many city destinations.

Train


Giving you full support throughout

Before your tour

  • Your own dedicated NST contact
  • Bespoke tour itineraries
  • Unrivalled local knowledge & expertise
  • Curriculum linked visit programmes
  • Great value for money - no hidden costs
  • Free group leader inspection visits
  • Risk assessment guidance
  • Safety assured, transport, accommodation and visits

Whilst you're away

  • Free educational resources
  • Group-friendly accommodation
  • Exceptional standards of coaching
  • On-tour support from our reps on the ground
  • Support & assistance from our specialists throughout your tour
  • 24/7 support just a call away
  • Extensive group travel insurance

On your return

  • Priority rebooking services
  • Rewarding your loyalty with our reward scheme
  • You say, we listen - we're committed to continuously improving our tours
  • School travel company of choice since 1967