Schools

Bring the curriculum to life and inspire your students. Stand at the spot where Operation Dynamo was planned, or experience what life was like for a medieval king or servant.

"We've spent a lot of time doing pre-work about castles in the classroom, but it makes such a difference for them to see for themselves what they've been learning about."

Jo Cross, KS1 Teacher

Curriculum Links

Support your teaching in the classroom by stepping out of it. A visit to Dover Castle will help you bring learning to life, covering multiple topics across the curriculum and key stages.

KS1 History: Significant historical events, people and places in the locality
KS2 History: A local history study. A study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066. The changing power of monarchs using case studies
KS2 Maths: Enriching mathematical understanding - breaking codes in WW2
KS3 History: The development of Church, state and society in Medieval Britain 1066-1509. Challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world 1901 to the present day
KS3 Maths: Enriching mathematical understanding - breaking codes in WW2
KS4 History: OCR History A: Study of the Historic Environment, OCR History B: History Around Us; AQA Section B: British depth studies including the historic environment, Norman and Medieval England
KS5 History: OCR Unit Y103/Y133: England 1199 - 1272, OCR Unit Y113/Y143: Churchill 1930 - 1951; Edexcel Paper 2, Option 2A.2: England and the Angevin Empire in the reign of Henry II, 1154 - 1189

Free Self-Led Visits

Enjoy a free self-led visit to Dover Castle and experience 2000 years of history. Start at the Roman lighthouse, then explore The Great Tower to learn more about Henry II. Descend into the Medieval tunnels on the way to the atmospheric Secret Wartime Tunnels. Find out more about WWI and the role of the WWI Fire Command Post by using our handling box, full of artefacts and activities and book the education room to dress up and imagine what life would have been like as a medieval lady or knight.

Enquire now

Expert-Led Discovery Visits

Let us lead a Discovery Visit for you and experience what life was like for the lords and ladies who lived at Dover Castle, during our interactive Knights, Feasts and Garderobes session, or step inside the Secret Wartime Tunnels and find out more about the work carried out there during WWII. Our hands-on sessions have been specifically designed to meet the needs of different groups across the key stages.

Our Discovery Visits have been adapted to follow health and safety guidelines and will still offer your students a quality and fun learning experience.

Find out more

Plan your trip

We have a wide range of materials to support your visit and make school trip planning easy. You can find all our site-specific information and tools below, and for Covid-19 risk assessments and measures we’ve got in place please visit our what to expect page.

Download our free resources to help you make the most out of your visit and create unique learning experiences before, during and after your trip. We also offer free planning visits for group leaders once you have made a booking. Visit our bookings page to start planning your trip!

Facilities
PARKING: Free parking for cars and minibuses under 3m in height. Coach parking if available off site at the council-run Pay and Display car park on Castle Hill.

TOILETS: Toilets, including accessible toilets, located at all main areas of the property.

LUNCH: You are welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy in the grounds. There are also two cafés, offering a takeaway service.

SECRET WARTIME TUNNELS: Our tunnels are not currently accessible for education groups. We're working on this to make sure we can offer a safe and enjoyable visit. Please sign-up using the link above in the Expert-led Discovery Visit section to receive updates about access and our Secret Codes and Ciphers workshop.

SHOP: The Great Tower Shop sells a range of gifts and books. We recommend bringing your students in small groups at a time.

EDUCATION ROOM: The education room is available to pre-book and is located in the Great Tower yard.

ACCESSIBILITY: Extensive grounds mainly accessible on tarmac paths, but some steep slopes. Wheelchair accessible route available on request. Land train stops at various parts of the site and can be used by students with limited mobility. Mobility scooters also available (to visitors over 18) if requested in advance. Unfortunately the Underground Hospital is not accessible for wheelchair users.

Hazard Information
A useful tool to help with your risk assessments.

Dover Castle Hazard Information.pdf (81.9 KB)

Discovery Visits
Our Discovery Visit Guide provides you with everything you need to know about our expert-led Discovery Visits at Dover Castle. It includes a breakdown of the learning objectives and details on how to prepare for the sessions.

Dover Castle Discovery Visit Guide (KS1-KS3).pdf (420 KB)

Risk Assessments
Our ready-made Discovery Visit Risk Assessments take the hassle out of planning.

Knights, Feasts and Garderobes Risk Assessment.pdf (73.2 KB)

Secret Codes and Ciphers Risk Assessment.pdf (49.7 KB)

Learning Resources
A Teachers' Kit is a free educational tool packed with everything you need to give your group a deep insight into the place you are visiting. Featuring historical information, suggestions for activities, and high-quality images, this resource is a comprehensive toolkit for group leaders of various subjects and key stages. Teachers' Kits also include key site information, facilities and plans.

Dover Castle Teachers' Kit (KS1-KS4+).pdf (48.9 MB)

This activity will immerse your students in the world of WW1 codes and signals. This resource includes notes for teachers and activity sheets for students.

Dover Castle First World War Team Training Assignment (KS3-KS4).pdf (79.2 MB)

Use our online resources to find out more about Dover Castle's role in the Dunkirk Evacuation (Operation Dynamo) in 1940.

Learn Along With Us: Operation Dynamo (KS1-KS4+)

With all history GCSEs now requiring a study of the historic environment, we’ve also created a site proposal form to help you with your planning in conjunction with OCR.

Dover Castle OCR Spec B: History Around Us (GCSE).pdf (307 KB)

These edited and translated versions of our Teachers' Kit are available to support you and your group if you're visiting from another country.

Dover Castle Teachers' Kit (French).pdf (6.9 MB)

Dover Castle Teachers' Kit (German).pdf (6.8 MB)

Education Site Opening Times
We offer free self-led education visits during school term time^*. From November until March we open exclusively for education groups at selected sites when booking an expert-led Discovery Visit. See our education opening times below for individual site information.

^*Free education visits are not offered on UK public holidays or during the operation of additional fee paying public events at English Heritage sites.

April-June: Monday-Sunday 10-5pm. Discovery Visits available Tuesdays and Thursdays

July-August: Monday-Sunday 10-6pm. Discovery Visits available Tuesdays and Thursdays

September-October: Monday-Sunday 10-5pm. Discovery Visits available Tuesdays and Thursdays

1 November-12 February: Saturday-Sunday 10-4pm

13 February-19 February: Monday-Sunday 10-4pm

20 February-31 March: Wednesday-Sunday 10-4pm

Enquire now

0370 333 0606

bookeducation@english-heritage.org.uk

Book online
Visit our bookings page to start your enquiry. All bookings must be made at least 14 days in advance. Please make sure you check our terms and conditions ahead of your visit.

If you’d like more information about a site or one of our workshops, get in touch using the online form on our bookings page to speak to your local Education Visits Officer. We look forward to seeing you soon.