Butser Ancient Farm Hampshire

Butser Ancient Farm is an internationally-famous experimental archaeology site with reconstructed buildings from the past spanning over ten thousand years of British history.

Our school trips bring to life an ancient past that is difficult for students to imagine. We offer activities and teaching relevant to the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings, all in the historic setting of our ancient buildings from those eras, reconstructed from real UK archaeology.

Your trip will feature four hands-on activities of your choice, tailored to suit the period of history your students are currently studying and run in and around the historic setting of our buildings. They can learn to spin fleece into wool, make a wattled wall, experiment with heat retention in a roundhouse, handle artefacts, conduct an archaeological excavation, and more.

Your students will gain a real understanding of what life might have been like in these eras, as well as practical experiences to draw from in their classroom studies of the period and beyond.

Archaeology Hampshire
farm Hampshire
Conservation farm
Butser Ancient Farm Hampshire
Field Studies

We take pride in tailoring our activities to suit the individual needs of each group that visits us. We are able to accommodate and target our activities to cover stages of the National Curriculum from KS1 to KS4, and support classroom study of various subject areas including history, maths, science, English, art, and design and technology.

Located in the stunning South Downs National Park and with excellent transport links to the South and Greater London, we’re ideally situated to welcome schools for a memorable, engaging, and unique day.

We have 50 years of teaching experience, and now welcome over 35,000 school children every year. Your students might also recognise us from one of our appearances in feature films and documentaries!

• The Council For British Archaeology Participation and Engagement Award
• Visit England Good to Go award
• Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice award

Your educators for the day will meet you in the car park when you arrive, and take you into one of our historic buildings for an introductory talk tailored to the subject your pupils are currently studying. They will then lead you through four hands-on activities of your choice, with a break for lunch around midday.

Your educators will be your guides for your time on site, and will answer your and your students’ questions and offer their historical expertise in a friendly and engaging manner throughout the day.

Activities that can be chosen include:

• Tour of the site and buildings, focusing on one period or comparing multiple
• Archaeological excavation
• Creating a wattled wall
• Chalk carving
• Artefact handling
• Making jewellery
• Pottery (Summer only)
• Analysing the finds from an archaeological dig
• Spinning fleece into wool
• Creating ancient string from plant fibres
• Experimenting with textiles and insulation to create a warm bed (Winter only)
• Roman Maths
• Designing mosaics
• Creating clunch, the mud-like material used on roundhouse walls (Summer only)
• Sewing Viking runes
• Building a flint wall

We can accommodate up to 200 children per trip. We always split students up into teaching groups of 30 or fewer, each led by a dedicated educator from our team.

We recommend you bring a ratio of one adult for every ten children, but you’re welcome to bring as many as you feel you need. Our minimum charge is equivalent to 20 students.

We provide all the necessary materials for our on-site activities. Groups who do our Pottery, Jewellery, Spinning, Chalk Carving, Sewing Runes, or Cordage activities will have made something to take home with them.

We also have a library of short documentaries perfect for use in class, with over 50 videos and demonstrations on topics like ancient metalworking techniques, how to construct a roundhouse, and making and using ancient weaponry. Access to the library is via www.butserplus.com for a small monthly fee and perfectly complements your trip with resources you can use when you return to school.

Feel free to take photos or videos while on site! We actively encourage teachers to take pictures of their classes doing activities, and would love to see anything you feel like sharing.

We can provide a full site risk assessment, as well as specific assessments for each activity. We also recommend free pre-visits for teachers so you can judge the site for yourself; please book a free ticket online or contact schools@butserancientfarm.co.uk to arrange your visit.

For more information or to make a booking, please see our website: https://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/school-trips

To contact our Schools Co-Ordinator directly, please email schools@butserancientfarm.co.uk or ring 02392 598838 (weekdays 9-5)

For a full day visit with four hands-on activities and a topical talk, we charge per child, with a minimum charge for 20 children.

For current prices please see website www.butserancientfarm.co.uk

These prices do not include VAT, which is added at 20%, but as schools are eligible to claim back VAT you likely won’t be passing that charge onto your students.

We’re an open-air site, so we recommend practical, weather-appropriate clothing, and sensible footwear for walking on possibly uneven ground. Wear warm coats in the cold, raincoats in the wet, and sunhats in the heat.

We ask that schools bring their own first aider and kit to the site, so that in the event of an incident the children can be tended to by someone familiar. We can also offer support from our own first aiders and kits.

Lunch in Historic Houses

Please bring a packed lunch. Groups are based in one of our historic buildings for lunch, and we’ll try to match the building with the period of history your students are studying. In fair weather, you may be based outside, but you’ll still be in an area relevant to your studies.

Gift Shop

We have a gift shop selling fun and educational items including historical colouring books, replica jewellery, and notebooks and quill pens. We can also arrange goodie bags themed to your students’ period of study, starting at £1 per child.

Bathroom Facilities

We have men’s, women’s, and disabled toilets on site.

Quiet Room Available

We can offer a small, quiet room if necessary. This is intended for students who may get overwhelmed or need a private space during the day, rather than as a study area. If you would like to book the quiet room, or think you may need to use it during the day, please let us know in advance so we can set it aside for you.

The whole site is fully accessible, with flat or ramped entrances to all buildings, no second storeys, gentle grassy or stony paths, and disabled toilet facilities. All our activities are designed with accessibility in mind, and our educators are experienced in teaching and engaging SEN and EFL students.

If you have any specific needs or concerns, please feel free to get in touch at schools@butserancientfarm.co.uk for a chat about what we can do to accommodate you and your students.

We are open for school visits from 10am during term time weekdays. We recommend you arrive for 10am and stay till 2pm to fit in all your activities, but we can tailor timings to your needs.

‘One of the best school trips I have ever been on. Excellent hands-on activities supported by enthusiastic, patient, and knowledgeable staff.’ – St John the Baptist Primary School

‘Absolutely brilliant visit. The children came back inspired and talking about it the following week.’ – The Bay CE Primary School

‘Delightful and hugely educational, a fabulous combination!’ – Putney High

‘This was a perfect visit, with every aspect of it being simple, effective, engaging, and enjoyable to be a part of.’ – Grayswood Primary School

‘We had such a fantastic day and the children have not stopped talking about it! It has made a huge difference to their understanding of the time period.’ – Shinfield St Mary’s CE Primary School

‘Our guide was so knowledgeable, friendly, pitched perfectly to the children, and fitted so much into the day. Couldn’t ask for more. Thank you!’ – Upham Primary School

‘A fantastic trip enjoyed by all.’ – St Mary’s Primary School

‘I would highly recommend other schools to go and take part in a fun day of great activities’ – St Osmund’s Catholic Primary School