Trips to London for History Students

After a major redevelopment, the museum features groundbreaking WWI Galleries which will present the story - how it started, why it continued and its global impact - through the lives of those who experienced it on both the front line and the home front. The Witness to War atrium displays iconic larger objects including a Harrier, Spitfire and V2 rocket suspended from above.

Visit the Churchill War Rooms which Winston Churchill and the War Cabinet used during air raids. Explore the historic rooms to experience secret history and discover the stories of those who worked underground as London was bombed above them.

A 60 minute workshop exploring how the cathedral survived the Blitz and still serves the city as a venue for remembrance and reconciliation. Students will be taught the Fire Watchers drill by a volunteer fire watcher and are taken on a journey around the Cathedral, being shown where bombs fell and demonstrated how to deal with the dreaded Incendiary bomb and gas mask.

Discover the stories behind this warship from WWII and beyond. Imagine sleeping in one of the tightly packed hammocks during duties in Arctic waters, or being stationed deep in the bowels of the ship when she opened fire in support of Allied troops on D-Day.

This two hour session takes place in a working court room and around the courts. Students will be introduced to the Royal Courts of Justice and prepare and enact a trial based on a real historical case. They will then discuss and debate real historical sentencing options and compare these to sentencing options in the present day. Trials include a conscientious objector during WWI, a trial deciding whether forcing slaves to leave the country should be made illegal or a suffragette arrested for malicious damage.

Offered on Mondays, groups can take a themed tour around the majestic abbey and learn how it was affected in WWII.

Understand the nature of surgery before the barriers of infection and pain had been overcome with the reconstruction of an early 19th century operation. Also covers the role, status and training of surgeons before the advances in surgery and medical training in the later 19th century.

St Mary’s Hospital is home to the Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum. As well as seeing Fleming’s laboratory, restored to its 1928 condition, students can explore the story of Fleming and debate his precise role in the development of penicillin.

The Hunterian Museum includes the display of over 2,000 anatomical preparations from surgeon and anatomist John Hunter’s original collection, alongside instruments, equipment, models, paintings and archive material which trace the history of surgery from ancient times to the latest robot-assisted operations. The Museum includes England’s largest public display of human anatomy.

Helping students to examine the role of Nightingale in the development of training for nurses and standards of care in hospitals, groups can see how the status of nurses was transformed, as well as how Nightingale’s work showed a new approach to the day to day running of hospitals. Why not use our worksheets to focus your group in the museum? 

During your visit you will be given a short talk outside the Royal Courts of Justice before listening to a court hearing in a criminal appeal. Your group will then be taken to Lincolns Inn, where many of the country’s top barristers have their chambers. The tour finishes at the Old Bailey where your group will be given a talk about the history of the court.

During an educational tour of this unique and medieval prison, your group 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.

Develop an understanding on the nature of authority and attitudes to crime and punishment in the early modern period with our school trips to the Tower of London. An ideal opportunity for a more in-depth study of Guy Fawkes and his attempt to destroy the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

A rich learning resource for students in Years 9-13, visits include an orientation session to help prepare and focus students, a visit to the galleries and a feedback session to help students reflect on what they have learned.

The Wiener Library is one of the world’s leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust and Nazi era. Formed in 1933, the Library’s unique collection of over a million items includes published and unpublished works, press cuttings, photographs and eyewitness testimony. 

Workshops can be booked covering a variety of themes relating to the Nazi era and genocide, including prejudice and discrimination, propaganda and genocide, and resistance and rescue. In addition, talks can be arranged on themes including Jewish refugees to Britain, the Kindertransport scheme, Kristallnacht and the genocide against the Roma. 

For those studying the GCSE option Crime and Punishment in Britain, take a walking tour of the Whitechapel area.  Five of the six most famous murder cases in Britain from 1811-1911, plus a famous Kray Twin murder, the Sidney Street Siege and the Cable Street Riot, all took place in or a stone's throw from Whitechapel.

This walk can be adapted to your study themes, whether it be the Whitechapel of Jack the Ripper, the Krays, some of the other crimes or, a combination of them, we'll cover the social history, the policing and also consider why it is that Whitechapel produced such famous crimes.  

The City of London Police Museum takes visitors on a unique journey, which includes the last hours of Catherine Eddowes, one of Jack the Ripper’s victims; bomb damage during the Blitz; being at the forefront of technology to counter terrorism and the current work against economic crime and cybercrime.

Visit the National Army Museum and find out how Britain’s past has helped to shape our present and future. Discover the impact our Army has had on the story of Britain, Europe and the world, and see how the actions of a few can affect the futures of many.

Why was 19th century Whitechapel so difficult to police?  Using original documents from our collection, students will explore the key features of Whitechapel in the 19th century to uncover why this area was such a challenge for the Metropolitan Police. Students will also discover how the police sought to overcome these challenges, from dressing as women to developing silent footwear, in their bid to rid Whitechapel of Jack the Ripper.

Exclusive to NST - this new guided walking tour in London is ideal for students studying Crime and Punishment in Britain or Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: crime, policing and the inner city options for their History GCSE. Led by a guide with examining experience, your group will discover the area of Whitechapel and learn about:

•    The environment of Whitechapel of the time
•    The role of the police
•    Reasons for Jack the Ripper's escape
•    View contemporary sources for the period