School visits
Taught sessions for Key Stages 1 to 3, on weekday mornings in term time. In 2024–25, 1,163 pupils from 26 schools visited.
Every session is led by our Learning and Collections Officer, Tom Ambler, or one of the schools volunteers, all of whom have enhanced background checks. Sessions take place in the Old Schoolroom and the galleries and use real objects from the handling collection.
Sessions
| Session | Key Stage | Length | Price a pupil |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Victorian school day. Register, drill, slates and copybooks in the schoolroom of 1558, with the master or mistress in costume. | 1 and 2 | 90 minutes | £4.50 |
| River and flood. The Pontar, the mill and the floods, with the Flood Bell, the flood marks and a walk to the Town Bridge. | 2 | 2 hours | £5.00 |
| The market town. The charter, the market and the trades of the square, using the census of 1841 and objects from the Market Town gallery. | 2 and 3 | 90 minutes | £4.50 |
| Local history enquiry. A question about the town answered from original documents, maps and photographs, for one class. | 3 | 2 hours | £5.00 |
| Stories and legends. The legend of the Lilac Sorceress and other stories of the town, told in the Lilac Room, with drawing and storytelling. | 1 | 60 minutes | £3.50 |
The minimum charge for a session is £90. Adults accompanying the class are free. We can take up to 32 pupils at a time, in two groups.
Booking
Sessions are booked through the museum by telephone or email, not online. Bookings for each term open at the start of the term before. Please contact Tom Ambler on 01632 960187 (Tuesday to Thursday) or at learning@vengerberg.org with the date you would like, the year group and the number of pupils.
We send a confirmation, a risk assessment for the museum and the walk to the bridge, and a pre-visit pack for the teacher. Teachers are welcome to make a free planning visit beforehand.
Practical information
- Coaches can set down on Station Road, opposite the top of Sheep Street.
- Lunch can be eaten in the Old Schoolroom from 12.00 to 12.45, or in the garden.
- The ground floor is step-free; please tell us about any pupils with access or medical needs when you book.
- Loan boxes of objects for use in school are available for a fortnight at £15.