English Heritage launches a public consultation today (Monday 24 July 2023) on plans for its new education facilities at Stonehenge.  Whether it’s hands on activities around the hearth of a reconstructed Neolithic building or awe-inspiring experiments in a high-tech lab, the charity’s “Learning at Stonehenge – Inspiring the Future” project will provide unique learning experiences for school children from the local area and allow young people from across the country to benefit from its proposed new education programme.

English Heritage already welcomes over 60,000 schoolchildren to the monument each year (48,000 of whom visit for free) and receives excellent feedback from teachers and students for their award-winning learning programmes, but demand to visit the site is growing, and the lack of permanent, dedicated learning facilities means the range of activities and experiences the charity can offer are limited.

Subject to planning permission, ‘Learning at Stonehenge’ will see the creation of two new buildings beside the existing visitor centre: one a purpose built, accessible and environmentally sustainable Learning Centre with a lab dedicated to Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM); the other an immersive “Neolithic classroom” in a recreated structure based on archaeological evidence from the nearby landscape. The charity is also developing a new ‘STEM in Heritage' programme to help students explore prehistoric technologies and modern archaeological techniques in a more engaging way.

Dr Dominique Bouchard, Head of Learning and Interpretation at English Heritage said, “We want to ensure that learning at Stonehenge does justice to this remarkable World Heritage Site, and for young people to come away from a visit feeling inspired, thinking, “If the builders of Stonehenge could create something incredible, why can’t I?” We want to create modern, inclusive, and sustainable spaces, including a hi-tech lab for learning about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and a “Neolithic classroom”. We’ll make sure that our facilities are fully accessible to everyone whatever their learning needs. This is an opportunity to create a Learning Centre and offer at Stonehenge that is worthy of the monument’s significance and will enable young people to connect with the past like never before. It is important we get it right and so we want to hear people’s views.”

English Heritage is working with an expert educational panel in addition to schools and schoolchildren local to the site so that we can ensure that our new Learning Centre and programme provide a world-class educational experience and set the standard for heritage education for years to come.

Mrs Carole Dean, Headteacher at Stonehenge School, welcomes the project, in particular the focus on STEM: “As careers and jobs change, it is vital that we invest in up-to-date approaches to stimulate an interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics by demonstrating how the modern world of innovation and discovery relies on a combination of all four subjects. This means that we need quality provision, such as the plans for this STEM Learning Lab, Digital Production Studio and STEM in Heritage learning offer at Stonehenge, to help our pupils understand their society and heritage, and gain the key ingredients that they need to become successful in their future careers and worlds of work.”

The Headteacher of the closest school to Stonehenge, Larkhill School, Mrs Charlotte Harmer also welcomes the proposals, “The development of a new Learning Centre will mean that English Heritage is able to offer a much more inclusive environment for all learners, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. The opportunity for our pupils to have an even broader experience of Stonehenge which includes STEM links is one that we very much look forward to with the development of a STEM Learning Centre.”

Following informal consultation with the local planning authority, English Heritage are pleased that Wiltshire Council has noted the benefits both a new Learning Centre building and Neolithic Classroom could bring to the area in principle. Any future planning application would be subject to consideration through the full independent planning process, during which consultation will take place with the local community.

The Learning Centre is designed to respond to the landscape around it, and positive pre-application consultation has also been carried out with Historic England and other statutory consultees. We have also discussed the scheme with the National Trust, our neighbours, and partners in the World Heritage Site. The proposal has also been subject to a formal Technical Review by ICOMOS, the technical advisory body to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee. Historic England, and ICOMOS are both broadly supportive of our proposals for a new Learning Centre and “Neolithic classroom” at Stonehenge. We will continue to work collaboratively with both organisations to address the small number of outstanding issues/recommendations.

Environmental sustainability is central to the project. Clad in sweet chestnut to complement the adjacent visitor centre buildings, the Learning Centre will be a low carbon structure and respond to the landscape around it.  The “Neolithic classroom” will be made of materials that would have been locally available in pre-history.  These innovative, sustainable buildings will be a source of inspiration for learners and exploring their engineering features will be incorporated into the learning programme.

English Heritage wants to hear from the community about these plans and is encouraging people to find out more about the proposed new learning facilities at Stonehenge. The public consultation starts today 24 July and will run until the end of September, ahead of a formal planning application being submitted to Wiltshire Council.  The charity has launched a website where members of the public can find out more about the project and provide feedback. Information displays and comment boxes can be found at Amesbury Library and Durrington Town Hall from 31 July, as well as at the Stonehenge visitor centre.

English Heritage is a charity, and this transformational project can only be achieved with the help of donors and supporters. We are actively fundraising to support the cost of constructing the new buildings and delivering the educational programming, and are in discussions with a range of prospective partners.

For more information and to submit your feedback visit http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/stonehenge/inspiringthefuture