King's Cathedral and Local History Experiences

We welcome pupils from primary and secondary schools, using our unique location to provide tours of our St Augustine's site and in-depth visits to the Cathedral itself, led by our partnerships team. 

In March four classes from local primary schools attended (over 100 pupils and staff in total) and enjoyed an extended tour of the site and Cathedral, focusing on 1500 years of local history and the site itself. Refreshments are always provided, including full breakfasts, elevenses or lunch depending on the timings of the visit. All pupils receive a gift of a fully-resourced pencil case and, where available, a book on the local history of Canterbury. Feedback is extremely positive. 

We plan to develop this programme further to incorporate art history (stained glass and stone masonry), alongside the Cathedral team and the English Heritage site at St Augustine's Abbey.  

Aims

To develop knowledge of local history and build links with partner schools. Owing to our unique location we are well-placed to facilitate access to the Cathedral and the Abbey. Our tours cover the history of Canterbury, religious developments, the various peoples who inhabited the area and the art within the sites.

Background

A need was identified with local schools: leaders wanted their children to access these historic sites, to learn about local history, art and religious developments. We arranged the tours and access in conjunction withe Cathedral Schools department and tours / visits now run regularly, taking in sites in Canterbury as well as the Cathedral itself. 

Resources

The event is coordinated and run by the partnerships team. Visiting pupils use King's facilities (the social centre for refreshments, the dining hall for breakfast) and tours are led by our partnerships staff. 

Each tour / activity lasts up to four hours including refreshments. 

There is no charge to the schools. 

Impact

Feedback is very positive. 

"Can I pass on the thanks and praise of staff here at XX Primary for the fossils, breakfasts, lunches and science assembly. Our staff are commenting on how well looked after they are when over at Kings, how good you all are as teachers and interacting with the children, how interesting the fossil/cathedral tour was etc. Thank you all so much. It really makes me happy how well the partnership is going."

What pupils said:

'The learning about the statues was fascinating.' 
 
'It was very educational.'  
 
'(Partnerships Team Lead) is a very kind person and he knew a lot. He was fun and was really good at explaining things.' 
 
'The museum was cool and fascinating.' 
 
'We felt important and elegant having breakfast prepared for us.' 
 
'The students helping were very polite and good with children.' 
 
'(Student) was really really kind, helpful, polite, funny.' (The student who sat with us) 
 
'It was really fun in the cathedral to learn about everything.' 
 
'It was inspiring. We are very lucky.' 
 
'The gargoyles were terrifying.' 

Pupil Involvement

Pupils are all of primary age. They come as  class, from Year 1 to Year 6, with staff in attendance. 

All pupils visiting are from local state primary schools. 

Frequency

Ongoing events, weekly in Easter term, less frequent in Summer owing to examinations. These events will go on throughout the year as desired by the schools.