The Jorvik Group Barley Hall York
Barley Hall, 2 Coffee Yard, York, YO1 8AR
MONTHS OPEN
DAYS OPEN
AGE GROUPS SERVED
Listed under: Geography | History | Science | Day Trip Destinations | Historic Buildings | Historical Heritage | Museums | Themed Attraction
What we offer on a school trip
School Trips
We are open for visiting! If you’d like to find out more about visiting Barley Hall, JORVIK or DIG safely during Covid-19 restrictions, please contact our Reservations department directly by phone (01904 615505) or email (schools@yorkat.co.uk).
A school visit to Barley Hall allows pupils to become immersed in life in a wealthy merchant’s townhouse in the Middle Ages. Accompanied by our costumed characters, your class will learn about the Snawsell family who lived here towards the end of the medieval period and how the remains of their home were uncovered and restored.
If you’re home-schooling, or simply trying to encourage a positive learning environment at home for your child, a visit to Barley Hall, JORVIK or DIG is a great way of supporting their development in history, literacy, and science. There are also a huge range of helpful resources available for free online.
Please note that Barley Hall is an historic building and features uneven floors, narrow stairs and steps between rooms. Facilities such as accessible toilets and a lift are unavailable due to the nature of the building.
Virtual Outreach
Why not invite a medieval medic, friendly archaeologist or Viking into your classroom this year? With our new live, immersive and interactive sessions, you won’t miss out on any of the fun of visiting our attractions, as we have adapted our award-winning school workshops for exclusive access online.
The virtual outreach encounters are available via Skype, Zoom and Google Meet, and we can even include children studying from home, meaning everyone in your class can stay connected as we explore the past together.
We have introduced a number of social distancing and safety procedures, and you can read more about them in our Covid-19 Advice for Visiting schools document: https://barleyhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Covid-19-Advice-for-Visiting-Schools-1.pdf
What makes us a great choice for education?
School Trips
Barley Hall offers a unique and immersive look at a wealthy medieval home in the company of a costumed guide, with activities to spark your pupils’ interest and bring history to life.
Virtual Outreach
Our award-winning school workshops have been adapted for access online. There’s a wide range of sessions available: spend some time with a medieval barber-surgeon, who will introduce you to the tools of the trade for medics in medieval York; meet with a Viking who will be your guide to your chosen topic; or chat with an archaeologist and see finds from York’s most important Viking and Roman excavations.
Accreditation and Awards
We are an accredited museum and have been awarded the Sandford Award for excellence in education provision.
What is typically included on our school trips?
School Trips
A tour of Barley Hall lasts up to an hour and is hosted by a member of our costumed interactive staff. Your group will get to discover about the Snawsell family who lived in the Hall towards the end of the medieval period, how the remains of their home were uncovered and restored and what life was like for both the family and the servants living in a wealthy merchant’s townhouse in the Middle Ages.
The talks given by our team will be tailored to your group’s level.
Virtual Outreach
Students can meet a historical character who will tell stories, show you prized possessions and maybe even guide you through doing some activities yourselves. Explore how medical practices have changed through the ages by coming face-to-face with our medieval medic. Learn about diagnosis, cures and preventative measures as you explore the tools of the trade for physicians, surgeons and other healers in the Middle Ages. Choose an option that suits your key stage and get your students in a medieval mindset.
Find out more about our range of options here: https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/education/outreach/
Group Sizes Catered For
School Trips
Barley Hall can accommodate groups between 15-35 people, including teachers/leaders. Larger groups can be split down into multiple timeslots.
Virtual Outreach
We recommend our virtual outreach sessions for class sizes of up to 40 children, so that all pupils have the opportunity to interact with the virtual host, but you can discuss your exact requirements when placing your booking.
Materials, Resources & Information Provided
We have a selection of free-to-access resources available online to complement your visit, including videos, factsheets and activity sheets:
Photography, Filming & Audio Restrictions
Visitors can take photos and record, but not use this content for commercial purposes.
Risk Assessment Details
Risk Assessments for all of our attractions and workshops are available via our website here: https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/education/risk-assessments/
A free familiarisation visit for up to 2 members of staff can be arranged at the time of booking via our Reservations Team.
Education Officer Information
For any educational enquires, please contact our Reservations Team via schools@yorkat.co.uk or by calling +44(0)1904 615505.
Pricing Information
School Trips
Barley Hall (entrance and tour) |
Barley Hall with one extra JORVIK Group attraction |
Barley Hall with two extra JORVIK Group attractions** |
|
School Child |
£4.00 |
£7.00 |
£9.00 |
Teacher |
£4.30 |
£8.00 |
£9.50 |
*One teacher free with every 6 child places booked.
**Schools do not have to visit all three attractions on the same day.
Prices may be subject to change. Please contact our Reservations team to confirm prices at the time of booking.
To complement your visit to Barley Hall, choose to add a fun, thematic workshop to your schedule, designed to spark your pupils’ interest and develop their knowledge. Our current workshop offer for Barley Hall can be seen here and all workshops cost £2 per child, with teachers attending free.
Virtual Outreach
We now offer discounts on multiple bookings so it’s easier than ever before to book several sessions to support your class’s learning across the term or for other classes studying this topic to share in the experience.
Our pricing for virtual outreach across any of our available platforms is as follows from September 2020:
Single Session Package |
Two-Session Package |
Three-Session Package |
Four-Session Package |
£85.00 |
£160.00 |
£225.00 |
£290.00 |
Clothing Requirements
No specific clothing is required for your visit. Apart from travel between the city’s coach parks and our other attractions, your visit is all indoors.
First Aid Information
We have qualified first aiders at all of our sites; however, we do recommend you have a first aider as part of your group.
Available Facilities
Single male and female toilets are available, and we recommend you visit the facilities in small groups before or between your activities. There is no accessible toilet.
Storage baskets for coats and bags are available. These are not secured or supervised and are for use while on-site only.
Accessibility & Disabled Facilities
Unfortunately, due to the structure of this historic building, wheelchair access is extremely limited. The ground floor can only be accessed by people who are wheelchair users via ramps over thresholds. There are steep stairs and high thresholds throughout. If you have particular requirements you would like to discuss with us, please contact our Reservations team. You can learn more about our access provision at Barley Hall here: https://barleyhall.co.uk/visit/access/
Opening Hours & Information
Our opening times are subject to change at present and the latest times can be viewed here: https://barleyhall.co.uk/visit/opening-hours-prices/
When making your booking with our Reservations team, you will be offered a schedule with a time of entry to Barley Hall. School visits schedules are currently being offered between the times of 10am and 3pm.
We ask that you arrive 10 minutes early to allow time to complete paperwork and for our friendly medieval guides to welcome your group and prepare them for their visit.
Testimonials
“We loved our Barley Hall visit... we wished we could stay even longer!” - Y3 pupil from York
Other Information
School visits are booked through our Reservations Team. Who can be contacted via our email address: schools@yorkat.co.uk or telephone number: 01904 615505
We have introduced a number of social distancing and safety procedures, and you can read more about them in our Covid-19 Advice for Visiting schools document: https://barleyhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Covid-19-Advice-for-Visiting-Schools-1.pdf