The Roman Circus Visitor Centre Colchester, provides educational groups with enrichment learning experiences to students focusing on topics such as archaeology, history and geography through the ages of Colchester’s roman historical past. The circus seated more than 8,000 spectators and was used for around 150 years. The site and visitor centre includes both outdoor and indoor displays, tours, Q&As and workshops. The Roman Circus Visitor Centre is an ideal school day trip destination in all seasons.
East of England
Roman Circus Visitor Centre, Roman Circus Walk, Colchester, Essex CO2 7GZ
MONTHS OPEN
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
DAYS OPEN
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holidays
AGE GROUPs
5 to 7 years, 8 to 10 years, 11 to 13 years, 14 to 16 years, College, University
What does your venue offer for schools
We offer a visit to the Roman Circus Visitor Centre for school groups (30-35 pupils, with a ratio of no more than 5 pupils per teacher/adult).
This tends to last around 90 minutes, and includes a talk from a Roman lady about life in Roman Colchester, and the Roman Circus, a quiz, time for Q&As, free-time to explore the Centre, and a race at the Circus’ starting gates! Our presentation can be adapted to particular curriculum needs. We prefer to book these visits on Mondays, as the centre is closed to the public then.
Roman Circus Visitor Centre
Roman History
Roman Archaeology
Roman Geography
What makes you a great choice for educational visits
Fun educational visits to the Roman Circus Visitor Centre. Learn about Roman Britain History and so much more.
On arrival, after the pupils have assembled and settled in the Main Hal, the plan for our school visits is flexible, but as a guide:
- 20 minutes talk from a Roman lady about life in Roman Colchester, followed by Q&A.
- 20 minutes in the Visitor Centre – talk about the Circus.
- 30 minutes teacher/helper-guided worksheet and free-time.
- Head to starting gates for a race or two just for fun and optional – teams of four children linking arms pretending to be horses followed by a charioteer and running a short way, it will make sense on the day.
- Free-time to let off steam in the Starting Gates garden! Pupils can go inside the Visitor Centre again if accompanied by an adult.
You are welcome to have picnic lunch in the Starting Gates garden or the Visitor Centre in inclement weather.
What is typically included on your school trips
- 20 minutes in the Visitor Centre – talk about the Circus.
- 20 minutes talk from a Roman lady about life in Roman Colchester, followed by Q&A
- 30 minutes teacher/helper-guided worksheet and free-time.
- Head to starting gates for a race or two just for fun and optional – teams of four children linking arms pretending to be horses followed by a charioteer and running a short way, it will make sense on the day.
- Free-time to let off steam in the Starting Gates garden! Pupils can go inside the Visitor Centre again if accompanied by an adult.
- Learning all about Archaeology, History, Geography and much more! KS2 and KS3.
Group sizes
We can comfortably accommodate 35 pupils (but can stretch up to 40 maximum if that is the class size), with a ratio of no more than 5 pupils per teacher/adult. If your group needs to be be split because of numbers we can offer either two mornings, or one morning/afternoon (perhaps alternate visiting the castle or have a guided walk around Roman Colchester).
Photography, filming & audio restrictions
Groups are authorized to take pics with copyright and credit to Colchester Archaeological Trust.
Risk assessment
Available on request
Education officer details
Samantha Rowley, info@catuk.org, 01206 501785
Pricing
The cost of each visit will be £150 plus VAT
Clothing requirements
Pupils (and adults!) wearing Roman costumes however basic are welcome, but not essential, as they give a real Roman experience – we have found that the do pupils engage with enthusiasm.
First Aid
Staff are first aid trained
Accessibility
We have wheelchair access to the building and fully accessible toilets.
Testimonials
“Our annual trip to the Roman Circus was a fantastic experience for our Year 8 Latin pupils. We make the journey from North Herts every year, to show our pupils how lucky they are to have such a wealth of Roman Archaeology within driving distance. We are not far from Welwyn and St Albans, which are both very interesting but we specifically request Colchester each year because of the importance of the site, how welcome our pupils feel at your visitors’ centre and how the tour is adapted perfectly to their abilities. Often tours about Romans are overly prescriptive and directed at KS2 pupils making them too easy for our KS3 groups. We love hearing about the overall context of the Circus and Colchester as we don’t get always get time to study Roman Britain in depth. It’s also great to hear the Latin words being used throughout the tour, in just the right quantities for Year 8.
Booking Process: Samantha has been very accommodating, informative and efficient, taking the stress out of booking a school trip. She was able to give me a list of dates straightaway and was able to hold one while I sought reassurance about coach availability. She also rang me back with answers to my questions and it was great not to have to deal with a call centre/complex switchboard.
Welcome: We had driven for two hours and we were relieved to be able to stretch our legs, use the facilities and have a drink before starting our tour. Thank you for the story about the squirrel and the bin! This brought a bit of fun to morning snack.
Tour: Wow! This wonderful interpretation centre has really grown over the years. When we first started to come, there was no screen, I don’t remember any discussion about the chariot or charioteer and I don’t think the images were up on the wall. There was only one loo and no cafe. I’ve seen rooms take shape and models come, move and expand, no doubt. Samantha took us station to station, keeping out pupils engaged with well-timed, well-paced information jam-packed with great facts and humour. This year, I was impressed with the level of research included in each of the sections and how Samantha addressed previous assumptions and terminologies. This is first school trip I have attended where the specialist was able to address ever-evolving research and how this informs our understanding and vocabulary. I was an archaeologist for a number of years and I am now a Classics teacher so I can’t help but listen out for details like these. Despite teaching lots of Roman topics, I learned so much and I was impressed with the range of questions which the tour elicited from our pupils and the answers given.
Plenary: Samantha had clipboards, pencils and worksheets all ready for us to use. The questions were perfectly pitched and I really liked how she directed pupils to find the answers in their surroundings, rather than just give them answers. The timings were perfect and we had time to enjoy the starting gates and have lunch before leaving for the rest of our activities in Colchester.
Thank you so much for this wonderful experience for our Year 8s and see you next year! “
Mrs Sandra O’Mahoney (she/her)
Teacher of Latin, KS2 English, Prep II Maths
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