School Information Pack
Download all the information you need, including classroom resources, teacher’s notes, maps, health and safety information.
School Trips
Get In Touch
School Trip Benefits
School Trip Prices 2023
Be guided through the rooms of the Castle, discover more about their contents and learn about the restoration of the Castle. Interactive audio guides are available in English, French, German, Dutch, Russian and Chinese.
| Package | Self-guided with Worksheets | Self-guided with WWI or WW2 Haversacks | Castle Private Guided Tour | Time Travellers Tour & Workshop | Romans & Tudors Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child (5-15) | £6.00 | £6.00 | £7.80 | £8.90 | £8.90 |
| Student (16-19) | £11.80 | £11.80 | £16.85 | N/A | N/A |
| Chargeable Adult | £15.00 | £15.00 | £15.00 | £15.00 | £15.00 |
| Birds of Prey Demo & Talk | £150.00 / £200.00. See details below. | ||||
Please note that a minimum of 15 people is required for each group visit and tour.
All packages include access to the Castle & Gardens.
School Trip Prices 2024
Be guided through the rooms of the Castle, discover more about their contents and learn about the restoration of the Castle. Interactive audio guides are available in English, French, German, Dutch, Russian and Chinese.
| Package | Self-guided with Worksheets | Self-guided with WWI or WW2 Haversacks | Castle Private Guided Tour | Time Travellers & Tudors Workshop | Romans Tour & Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child (5-15) | £6.15 | £6.15 | £7.95 | £9.10 | £9.10 |
| Student (16-19) | £12.05 | £12.05 | £17.20 | N/A | N/A |
| Chargeable Adult | £15.45 | £15.45 | £15.45 | £15.45 | £15.45 |
| Birds of Prey Demo & Talk | £150.00 / £200.00. See details below. | ||||
Please note that a minimum of 15 people is required for each group visit and tour.
All packages include access to the Castle & Gardens.
Birds of Prey Demo & Talk
From February to September 2023 you will be able to add on a falconry experience to a self-guided visit or private guided tour.
Option one £150.00
- 15 – 30 children (children will be split into two groups with a maximum of 15 per group)
- 30 minutes per group
- 12:00 – 13:00
- Flying demonstration and talk
Option two £200.00
- 30 – 100 children
- One hour with whole group
- 12:00 – 13:00
- Flying demonstration and talk
Please note, if the weather is too hot the birds of prey will be unable to fly so only the talk will take place.
(Minimum 15 paying children. Not available in school or bank holidays. This experience will take place in the jousting field.)
Free-flow with Worksheets
Choose from a range of worksheets as you go around the Castle, exploring numbers within the building, patterns, shapes, faces, feelings and historical clothing. Find out how information is hidden around every corner and what we can learn about people from the past just by looking at them and the structures they left behind.
Entry to the Castle & Gardens is included.
School groups must be pre-booked, and free flow access to the Castle is from 12:00pm. Visitors are divided into groups of no more than 25.
Free-flow with WWI or WW2 Haversacks
The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry Military Museum is a great place for a school visit. The single storey museum is set in its own wheelchair accessible building within the grounds of Hever Castle.
Teachers can prebook the eight WW1 and WW2 onsite learning haversack resources, which have been specifically created to feature many links to the KS2 curriculum, including history, literacy, remembrance, maths and science. You can learn more about these resources here.
Entry to the Castle & Gardens is included.
Suitable for KS2 (7-11 yrs).
School groups must be pre-booked, and free flow access to the Castle is from 12:00pm. Visitors are divided into groups of no more than 25.
Children’s Private Guided Castle Tour
Have you ever wondered what the cure for nausea was in medieval times? Our children’s school groups tour will tell you this and more as it focuses on life in a medieval England and some of the weird practises people went through every day. We also follow the story of Anne Boleyn, Hever Castle’s most famous – and unluckiest – resident who became the second wife of the notorious King Henry VIII. Tours can be tailored to focus on particular themes and topics on request.
Taking a private guided tour of the Castle gives children the opportunity to be inspired by history as they listen and interact with their guides. Entry to the Gardens is included, but a return visit to the Castle is not permitted. In the event of the tour being cancelled on the day or late arrival preventing the tour from taking place, a charge for the guides booked will be made.
Castle tours must be pre-booked and are conducted outside of normal opening hours, commencing at 10am and 10.30am. Visitors are divided into groups of no more than 25, with one tour guide per group. Tours last approximately 1 hour and can be given in English only at present.
KS1 (5-7 yrs) and KS2 (7-11 yrs) tours are available.
Time Travellers Tour & Workshop
Imagine you are a 16th century noble living at Hever Castle during a visit from King Henry VIII. What is happening? What can you see and smell? Our Castle tour will explain all of this and more as you uncover the tale of living in a castle during the Tudor period. Later, head up to our designated classroom to learn all about late medieval life and how different it could be for peasants and Royals. Play with Tudor toys, try on some Tudor hats and even have a try at tapestry weaving. It’s harder than it looks!
Entry to the Gardens is included.
The Time Travellers Tour & Workshop must be pre-booked and is available until Friday 17 November 2023. Visitors are divided into groups of no more than 25.
KS1 (5-7 yrs) and KS2 (7-11 yrs) tours are available.
Romans Tour & Workshop
Learn about Roman life on this outdoor tour which uses Hever Castle’s vast collection of ancient statues to unravel the oddities and intricacies of Imperial Rome. Set within our Italian style gardens, this tour will also include a hands-on workshop, where paper mosaics and working aqueducts can be constructed to show how skilled and clever the ancient Romans were.
Entry to the Castle is included.
The Romans Tour & Workshop must be pre-booked and operates from April to September only (Wed – Fri).
Suitable for KS2 (7-11 yrs). Maximum 30 per guide.
Castle Interactive Audio Guide
Children’s interactive audio guides bringing 700 years of Hever Castle to life are included as part of a general visit. Be guided through the rooms of the Castle with lively insight into how life might have been in Tudor times. Entry to the Gardens is included, but a return visit to the Castle is not permitted.
School groups must be pre-booked and tours using the interactive audio guides are conducted from 12:00pm on days the Castle is open. Students are divided into groups of 12-15 for these tours. The children’s interactive audio guide is only available in English and lasts approximately 45 minutes.
Before Your Visit
Classroom Resources
Here you can find a selection of resources to use in the classroom before of after your visit.
Things To Do
Frequently Asked Questions
There are plenty of picnic spots around the gardens. However, if it’s raining we recommend heading to the Loggia to eat your lunch as you will be under cover. If the Think Tank workshop is available on the day of your visit we may be able to offer this as an option.
- Visitors should consider access to the Castle according to their individual needs.
- We regret that it is not possible for visitors to use motorised wheelchairs or mobility scooters inside the Courtyard or Castle due to the historic nature of the building and its contents.
- Wheelchairs cannot be taken up staircases inside the Castle for health and safety reasons.
- Pushchairs cannot be taken into the Castle and must be left in the Courtyard for health and safety reasons.
- From the drawbridge there is one step down to the Gatehouse followed by three steps down to the Courtyard. We regret that it is not possible to install a ramp for these steps for health and safety reasons. From the Courtyard there is one step up and down into the Castle’s Entrance Hall. View of Castle Gatehouse as seen from the Courtyard.
- There are three floors to view in the Castle. The ground floor is arranged on one level, and is the only floor suitable for wheelchair use. There are six rooms to view before reaching thirteen spiral steps up to the middle floor. It should be noted that the spiral steps to the middle floor are the only means of reaching the upper floors.
- The middle floor is arranged on various levels, with steps up and down into most of the rooms. There are sixteen steps up to the top floor. The top floor is also arranged on various levels. There are twenty six spiral steps down from the top floor to exit into the Courtyard. • All staircases in the Castle have a banister rail.
- Inside the Castle the floor surface is wood in most rooms, with some areas being carpeted or covered in carpet matting. • Lighting inside the Castle is generally bright with LED spotlights, wall sconces, or chandeliers. However, some areas are more dimly lit to aid the preservation of the exhibits.
- Interactive Audio guides are available in (English, French, German, Dutch, Chinese and Russian. Children’s audio guide in English only). Hearing loops are available to use with audio guides if required. Please ask for further information on arrival to the Castle.
- Visitor Experience Assistants are available if you require further information or assistance.
- Touchscreens detailing Anne Boleyn’s Books of Hours are located on the first floor of the Castle.
- A limited number of magnifying glasses and a brief history of the Castle in Braille are available on loan at the Castle Entrance upon request.
- Freestanding information panels in the Castle are all in large text, and are 1000mm/40ins high and printed on Perspex.
- Some rooms have background sounds and music playing representing the period in history.
- Individual seats and window seats are located in some rooms. Please note that some rooms do not have seating available.
- Visitors who do not wish to go upstairs are welcome to wait for their family and friends at the Castle Entrance. Whilst waiting at the entrance, visitors are able to finish the audio guide in full or read a guidebook.
Hever Castle & Gardens is an official Learning Destination for the Children’s University which offers 7 to 14 year olds exciting and innovative learning activities and experiences outside normal school hours. If you are not a member of the Children’s University, you can find out how to register via their website. When you are ready to visit, be sure to download our fun trails at the top of this page and come to Hever Castle with your Passport to Learning. Once you have completed your trail, please visit the Information Centre where a member of staff will stamp your passport. On special event days you can also receive a stamp for completing our themed trails and craft workshops. Please see the What’s On page for more information. Once you have finished your trail or craft project, please visit the Information Centre where a member of staff will stamp your passport.
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