Durham Castle Session Information

Please Note: Due to extensive building works on our school teaching spaces this session will not be available to primary groups as we cannot provide the facilities these groups need for lunch and toilets. We aim to start these sessions for Spring term 2025. 

This session is taught at both Durham Castle and the Learning Centre at Palace Green Library.

Most coaches will drop you off at Durham University Students’ Union (Dunelm House, New Elvet, Durham, DH1 3AN). You will then need to walk with the children to Palace Green Library (DH1 3RN) where a member of our Learning and Engagement Team will be waiting to greet you.  

The day consists of: 

• Interactive Tour of both the inside and outside of the Castle. We discover the history of the Castle, who has lived there in the past and who lives there now. We also look at features of the Castle and explore its fascinating spaces. This will take the whole morning.
• Castle Builder, where we ask the children to use what they have seen at the Castle in the morning, and their pre-existing knowledge of castles, to create their own from a cardboard box. If there is time, we ask the children to build castle walls out of our big foam bricks – who can build the biggest, strongest wall?

Need to know:

• The day at the museum runs from 10am – 2.15pm approximately and is entirely taught by members of our Learning and Engagement Team. 
• The maximum number of children we can take on one day is approximately 60 children. 
• The cost of the visit is £6 per pupil, and free for all accompanying adults. 
• Your packed lunch will either be eaten in the Castle or in our Learning Centre. This will depend on other events going on at the Castle on the day of your visit, and how many of you there are! Alternatively, if the weather is good and you would like to, you can sit outside on Palace Green and have a picnic. 

This session is not available as an outreach visit to school or as an online session.

Directions to the Castle

National Curriculum Link: 

History - Key Stage 1: significant historical events, people and places in their own locality. 

Session costs