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School Trips

We are passionate about arts education in schools, and love to enrich pupils’ learning with an onsite visit to our gallery.

Seeing world-class art up close and personal sparks the imagination like nothing else, and we are proud to be many local children’s first experience of an art gallery. There are opportunities to visit both our museum and gallery exhibitions, with creative workshops taking place in our specialist Education Studio, nestled amongst the professional artist studios in the Victorian Kitchen Garden.

We know schools face challenges when organising school trips – that’s why we offer coach bursaries (see below) to help with the cost of travel, and share detailed timetables and risk assessments with teachers when booking, to try and lighten the load. We also offer pre-visits for teachers to see the site and meet the team in advance of bringing a class.

Have a look through what we offer different age groups below. Got questions? Give our friendly Learning team a ring on 01909 501700, or email them at education@harleyfoundation.org.uk.

Trips for schools - A group of school children outside the museum for The Portland Collection
Trips for schools - A boy in a blue jumper taking a photograph of an artwork in the gallery.

Primary School Art Trips

Our primary school trip package combines the best of our galleries with hands-on learning in our Education Studio. Pick the craft that suits your class best, let us know any relevant topics you’re studying, and we’ll do the rest. Click the button to find out more.

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Secondary School Art Trips

Please get in touch if you would like to bring a secondary school group to visit. We can offer free introductions to our exhibitions for groups who wish to plan their own time here, or we can work with you to develop a bespoke trip with gallery tours and creative workshops to suit your curriculum.

Current artist-led workshops include printing, upcycling clothes, recycled sculpture, metalwork, jewellery and ceramics. Please note, these tailor-made trips are subject to availability and prices vary depending on your requirements. Get in touch with the Learning Team at education@harleyfoundation.org.uk to find out more.

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FE + HE Visits

We welcome visits from Further Education and Higher Education groups. Please get in touch to discuss any requests for your visit, or see Self-Guided Visits below.

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Home Education Group Trips

Our Primary School Art Trips can be adapted to suit mixed age home education groups. We charge £4 per learner for a half day, and £6 per learner for a full day. We count all children and any adult who wants to take part in the craft as a learner; extra accompanying adults go free.

Our minimum charge is for 10 learners and we can accommodate a maximum group size of 30 (including children and adults). Please ensure you have a nominated adult who will take overall responsibility for your group.

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Self-Guided Visits

The gallery and museum are both free to enter. Education groups are welcome to arrange self-guided visits, but please let us know you are coming. This helps us to manage your group alongside other bookings and avoid any disappointment should certain galleries be closed.

Free 5-minute introductions to our exhibitions are available: please contact the Learning team to book.

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Schools Bursary

To support local schools with increasing prices, we offer 4 bursaries of up to £300 each term to cover travel costs. To claim this bursary, you must be from a state school within the postcodes: S20, S21, S25, S26, S43, S44, S80, S81, NG17, NG18, NG19, NG20, NG21, NG22, DN22. The trip you book must take place within the same academic year, and you must be booking a paid-for workshop as part of your visit.

Please note, each school can claim a maximum of one bursary per academic year, and the fee for the workshop will still apply. Get in touch for more details and terms and conditions.

Get in touch
A young girl making a pottery pinch pot

LIFT OFF: THE HARLEY ART FRAMEWORK

Lift Off is a free resource designed to support teaching art in primary school, developed in partnership with Educational Consultants Brochocka Baynes. This downloadable pack provides developmental guidelines and art lesson ideas across the 3 to 11 age range.

You can also visit our Creative Activities page to find extra downloadable resources to use in the classroom.

Download Lift Off
A young girl making a pottery pinch pot

testimonials

KS2 pupil

‘This is the best day ever!’

KS2 teacher

‘It was well structured with clear objectives for each session- we loved it all! The subsidy for the coach was an enormous help, making the trip affordable for families. Many thanks for making our visit such a huge hit with the children- we will definitely be back!’

Local secondary school teacher

‘Excellent intro to the galleries, with a view to careers in the arts.’

KS1 teacher

‘We loved all of the program of activities – it was such a fantastic opportunity for our KS1 learners to view actual artwork; allowing them to see/appreciate scale, texture, detail and how varied art can be. The Portland Museum visit also ignited the creativity ahead of the clay workshop, enabling them to connect animal choices and ideas for their own work of art!’

KS1 pupil

‘I liked making art from recycled materials because we are having fun but also saving the planet!’

Harley Foundation
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