London Psychology & Sociology School Trips & Tours

Delve into the darker corners of the mind at the final home of the father of modern psychology!

The Freud Museum was the home of Sigmund Freud and his family after they were forced to flee Nazi-occupied Vienna. Students can discover the man behind the theories through his intriguing consulting room, his extraordinary collection of antiquities, and his world-famous psychoanalytic couch.

The Museum has a dedicated Education Team who are passionate about Freud and his work. Facilitated visits include an introduction to the house, and a tailored discussion at the end of the visit to help students understand Freud’s approach and assist with exam preparation.

Students can also explore Freud’s ideas with a new series of specially produced educational films, created for A-Level students learning about the psychodynamic approach.

The informative Holocaust exhibition at the Imperial War Museum use historical material to tell the story of the Nazi persecution of the Jews and other groups before and during World War II.

An audio tour and tailored teaching session will enable groups to focus on key psychological topics such as prejudice and social influence. We highly recommend this visit. A café is also available on site for lunch, if required.

Bethlem Hospital is Europe’s first and oldest institution to specialise in mental illness. The hospital museum, Museum of the Mind, has relocated to Bethlem Hospital site, and the new premises include a dedicated learning space, permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition gallery and archive search room.

Self-guided visits are available for school groups. These 90 minute sessions include a short introductory talk and a visit to the museum which now includes sections on labelling and diagnosis, freedom and constraint, temperament, treatments and recovery.

Teachers are welcome to make an advance visit and develop their own activities.

Run by Dr Matt Pritchard, who works for organisations like Royal Institution, British Science Association and The Big Bang fairs, these interactive science and maths magic shows will inspire and inform students.

During this exciting hands-on session based around the psychology of a magician, your group will take a closer look at what psychology teaches magicians and vice versa.

You will explore how a working knowledge of the vision system and behaviour can be used to trick the eyes (perspective, retention of vision, change blindness, inattentional blindness, motion blindness etc.) plus how a magician can exploit the brain’s thinking to read and influence minds.

There will be lots of opportunities to participate in simple magic tricks and experiments before returning home to test your skills on friends and family.

A tour combining both the Old Bailey and the Royal Courts of Justice - it starts at the Royal Courts of Justice, a stunning historical building where some of the country’s most significant legal judgements are made. This is followed by a walk through the secret alleys and courtyards of the nearby Inns of Court, in the footsteps of some of the country’s most renowned legal minds.

The tour then moves on to the Old Bailey, the country’s leading criminal court, for a talk outside on the fascinating history of the Old Bailey and a guide to the most interesting trials being heard that day. You will have the knowledge to make an informed choice of which case to watch. You will know what time trials are starting, what they are about and most importantly where to be and when.

During an educational tour of this unique and medieval prison, which dates back to the 12th century, your students will have the opportunity to handle original historical torture artefacts relating to crime and punishment used in the prison.

Witness the terrible conditions of the time, and learn of the prison’s involvement in many major events through audio and visual presentations and the colourful narrative provided by your guide. Self-guided visits are also available.

The Museum of Brands encourages visitors to discover how well-loved brands have evolved through creative use of packaging and advertising and how we, the public, have evolved with them. The permanent Time Tunnel exhibition explores how daily life has changed since the Victorian times and offers a view of the culture and lifestyle of our parents and grandparents. A regular rotation of temporary exhibitions put special moments in history into the spotlight and showcase the cutting edge of contemporary branding, packaging and advertising. 

A range of engaging curriculum-linked workshops for KS2-5 are also available to cover numerous topics including product development, brand evolution, customer profiling and sustainability. 

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of one of London’s famous stadiums and consider the mindset of the players as they head out to compete. Tours available include Wembley, the Emirates, Stamford Bridge and Twickenham.

On a Natural History Museum school trip, your students can explore the natural world and discover the amazing diversity of life that has evolved on our planet. Study a range of themes including climate change, evolution and the natural environment, helping to give your students an understanding of the impact that science has on their lives.

Exploring the human biology gallery, which covers memory and how our memory functions and an insight into the human body.

The Science Museum is packed with awe-inspiring galleries, interactive resources and inspirational exhibitions. Your students can explore the hands-on galleries which cover a wide range of subject areas.

The museum also offers a great selection of curriculum-linked schools events and shows, and stunning 3D films in their IMAX Cinema.

Science Museum resources are also available and free to download.

Discover firsthand the historical context of Whitechapel in the late 19th century as well as in-depth historical knowledge on Jack the Ripper.

This informative evening activity led by expert guides provides an insight into the crimes including what they reveal about the history and social conditions in the East End of London at the time. The site is also near Cable Street so the study visit can include work on 20th century protest.

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. 

During a 90 ­minute session with a sleep expert from the Sleep Assessment & Advisory Service (SAAS), students will explore the links between sleep and wakefulness. Created by Dr Chris Idzikowski, the country's leading expert in sleep and director of the Sleep Assessment and Advisory Service, this unique session draws on his experience of more than 30 years in the field which includes running a sleep disorders centre, investigating the effects of drugs on sleep, giving expert advice at major criminal trials and publishing several books.

You can choose to focus on a range of study themes including: Sleep Research, Sleep Disorders; Sleep and the Law; Sleep and dreaming, Mental Illness and Sleep.­ Your session can be tailored to suit the specific learning requirements of your group. For example, for GCSE groups "Sleep research" can be turned into an opportunity to learn about "Research methods" used in psychological research. 

There’s persecution, hanging, drawing and quartering, burnings at the stake, grave robbing, the horror of the Great Fire, an infamous prison and its gallows, a scary ghost, traitors’ heads on gates, bear baiting, prostitution, a debtors’ prison, riots and other general unpleasantness.