Our Admissions Policy

 Visits to about 150 properties must be booked in advance.  These include our staffed sites and some others where you will need to make prior access arrangements, for instance with a key keeper. Over 250 other sites can be visited at any reasonable time without advance booking. Please note that at a few properties a charge is made for additional services and facilities, due to management arrangements.

Free admission is granted to educational groups, on condition that planned educational work is undertaken on site. Those eligible include:

• Formal education groups including schools, colleges of further and higher education and universities (including accredited extra-mural or continuing education courses)

• Life long learner groups including the Workers' Educational Association, University of the Third Age and local authority classes

• Organised informal education groups including Scouts, Cubs, Guides, Brownies and similar youth groups, including the Young Archaeologists' Club

• Groups of children, youths or adults with special learning needs or disabilities, gifted children, mentoring services

• Home educators who are members of Education Otherwise, the Home Service, the Home Education Advisory Service or TEACH. Other home educating families may be admitted at our discretion if application is made in advance. If you are a home educator, please supply details of the organisation to which you belong and proof of membership. Free entrance extends to parents with their children.

We are pleased to offer the above groups a 15% discount (for 11 or more), with free admission for the accompanying group leader. A 10% discount is given at Stonehenge.

The teacher or leader in charge of the group from the educational establishment must complete and sign the form. We cannot accept forms completed by coach or tour operators, guides or other third parties offering their services.

It is an essential condition of free admission that teachers or group leaders run their own pupils' or students’ educational work during their visit. We do not permit the use of outside providers, such as tour guides, re-enactors, artists and theatre groups to work with pupils or students on site.

We may ask you to supply proof of status and of the educational work that you will be doing on site. We reserve the right not to grant free entry.

Paying groups

The following groups do not qualify for free educational visits:
• EFL and Language Schools
• Summer schools, study holiday groups and lecture tours for adults including those arranged on a commercial basis by universities and other organisations
• Adults on leisure visits, such as Womens’ Institutes, local amenity groups and student societies.

Entry to events

Please note that the Free Educational Visits scheme does not cover entry to our public events. Educational groups are welcome to visit these on payment of the relevant entry price. The normal discount rate applies for groups of 11 or more. For further details of our events programme, see our Places to Visit pages or tel 0870 333 1183.

Audio tours

We do not provide audio tours for free educational groups, as they do not encourage active investigation of the site by the pupils or students. Teachers may use audio tours (where available) on a preparatory visit to aid familiarisation with the site. Individual tourism students evaluating on-site facilities as part of their course work can use audio tours if available. For some sites, we can supply hard copies of the audio tour scripts to help you prepare for your visit - please enquire when booking if you are interested.

National Trust Education Group Members

The National Trust and English Heritage have partnership arrangements at a number of properties around the country. EGM groups receive free entry to these sites but all visits must be prebooked through English Heritage using the Free Educational Visit booking form. The sites include Stonehenge; Housesteads Roman Fort; Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland; Hailes Abbey, Gloucestershire; Hardwick Old Hall, Derbyshire and Mount Grace Priory, North Yorkshire.