Key Stage 4 education at Norwich Castle

For more information, enquiries and bookings email our Norwich Bookings Coordinator at norwichcastle.bookings@norfolk.gov.uk, or call 01603 493636.

Events

Visit us for immersive museum-based events in which you'll meet different characters and take part in a range of activities.

10am - 2pm and £6 per pupil, unless otherwise stated. Minimum fees apply. Maximum 120 pupils per day, except Crime and Punishment, which is maximum 60.

Medicine

Suitable for all exam boards except OCR B SHP.

Discover how medicine has changed from Medieval times to the present day by meeting costumed characters, handling objects, and analysing sources from Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial, and Modern periods.

• More information about Medicine

Resources

• KS4 History of Medicine - Virtual pharmacy trail (PDF, 255 KB)
• Edexcel Medicine - The First World War British Sector handling and display objects (PDF, 159 KB)
  • Handling objects (PDF, 1 MB)
  • Mural of Western Front Casualties (PDF, 5 MB)
  • No Man's Land, Walking Wounded and Regimental First Aid Post (PDF, 1 MB)
  • Stretcher Cases (PDF, 103 KB)
  • Advanced Dressing Station (PDF, 1 MB)
  • Main Dressing Station (PDF, 1 MB)
  • Casualty Clearing Station (PDF, 1 MB)
  • General Hospital and Hospital Ships (PDF, 164 KB)
• Letters from the British Sector of the Western Front (PDF, 212 KB)
  • Cecil Upcher's Trench Sketches (PDF, 4 MB)

Crime and Punishment

Take a tour of the museum's Georgian former prison buildings, find out about punishment objects, go on a tour of the dungeons and take part in courtroom activities including a trial re-enactment. Suitable for all GCSE exam boards.

• More information about Crime and Punishment 

Resources

• Medieval cell and graffiti (PDF, 149 KB)
• Bible from 18th Century showing baptisms in the prison chapel (PDF, 76 KB)
• Staff in uniform, 1876 (PDF, 435 KB)
• Courtroom (PDF, 192 KB)
• James Blomfield Rush's death head (PDF, 11 MB)
• Grave markings (PDF, 482 KB)

Anglo-Saxon and Norman England

Meet Saxon and Norman characters and compare and contrast their cultures. Re-enact the Battle of Hastings and the Saxon rebellions, and take a virtual tour of the Castle to discover why it was built, how it functioned and how important it was to the Normans. Also available for KS5.

Please note: This event will not visit the Castle Keep during the Royal Palace Reborn project.

• More information about Anglo-Saxon and Norman England 

Historic Environment - suitable for OCR B (SHP)

Explore Norwich Castle as an historical site for the OCR B SHP History Around Us topic. This event includes a virtual Castle Keep tour, prison buildings tour, courtroom workshop and museum highlights tour.

Please note: The Keep tour will be a video tour while the Keep redevelopment project is ongoing.

• View the OCR B (SHP) Criteria page
• More information about Historic Environment

Museum tours: Highlights tour or prison buildings tour

35 minutes, £3 per pupil, max 30 pupils, minimum fee £45

Choose from museum highlights tour or prison buildings tour. On the highlights tour, find out about some of the star objects and significant items in our displays. On the prison buildings tour, discover how the building was used and laid out when it was a prison. These tours do not visit the dungeons or courtroom. Please note: there may be closures or changes in the museum, so if there are particular areas you want to visit, please check that they are available before booking by contacting norwichcastle.bookings@norfolk.gov.uk. You can also see planned gallery closures on our website.

Art tours

35 minutes, £3 per pupil, max 15 pupils, minimum fee £30

Take inspiration and motivation from the museum's buildings and its collections - which include art, decorative art, history and natural history - while accessing and researching exam themes. These tours can be combined with self-led time to explore and sketch.

GCSE Art Study Support Materials

Packs designed to support progress through GCSE Art and Design coursework.

Please note: During the Castle Keep redevelopment project, some artefacts mentioned in these materials may not be on public display.

• Natural Forms (PDF, 1 MB)
• Personal Identity (PDF, 1 MB)

Self-guided visits

Explore the galleries at Norwich Castle with your class. If there are particular areas you want to visit, please check that they are available before booking by contacting norwichcastle.bookings@norfolk.gov.uk. You can also see planned gallery closures on our website.

Free for pre-booked term-time visits by schools in Norfolk; £2.40 per pupil for pre-booked term-time visits by schools outside Norfolk (under-4s free). Max 60 pupils, subject to availability. Accompanying adults free in a reasonable ratio.