Osborne – English Heritage
York Avenue, East Cowes, PO32 6JT. England
Enjoy a visit to Osborne and design your day to suit your curriculum needs. Tour the house, including the state rooms and family rooms and marvel at the exotic Durbar room, containing the gifts and paintings given to Queen Victoria as Empress of India. Explore the extensive grounds, including the beach where you can enjoy a pre-booked ‘Royal Tea’ with your pupils and see the Swiss Cottage with its own gardens, once tended by the royal children. Due to limitations on capacity inside the main house, booking a time slot to visit is essential. Please request a slot when making your booking.
Don’t forget, if you are looking for help with funding the cost of your trip, you can apply for a bursary!
Hero Offer: English Heritage have an exclusive offer for Great British School Trip teachers! Apply below for the chance to get a FREE Discovery Visit at Osborne worth £100. Schools with 40%+FSM will be prioritised for this offer.
Looking for a bursary to support your trip?
We know that funding a school trip isn’t always easy. If you are looking for help with costs, you can apply for the Great British School Trip bursary. This can help with the cost of travel or entry tickets to any Great British School Trip partner venue.
Simply fill in our bursary form and let us know how we might help.
Book via The Great British School Trip and your school will be automatically entered into our fantastic competition! See details below.
Discovery Visits and Osborne
Story Mat
Students can handle a range of rocks and fossils as they find out more about the Royal children who collected them.
Availability: Monday to Friday during term time. Sessions last for 45 minutes.
The Queen is coming!
Students enter the world of the downstairs brigade in this stunning, full-equipped historic setting and discover what life was like for the servants at Osborne House in the 1870s. Queen Victoria’s Housekeep Mrs Smith talks about domestic life below-stairs and introduces hands-on role-play activities. Learn to set the table, black boots, clean the brasses and beat the rugs in preparation for the arrival of Queen Victoria.
Availability: Monday to Friday during term time. Session lasts for 1.25 hours.
Victorian Explorers: Discover the Island with the Royal Children
Using excerpts from the Royal children’s diaries and letters, and a map of Isle of Wight containing treasures such as fossils and stones, students will learn more about the Victorian interest in collecting, which led to the creation of Swiss Cottage museum. They’ll take part in role play, handle objects and create their own mini museum display and get drawn into a story of a Victorian Explorer discovering the natural world.
More information
Education at English Heritage
Inspire your students in the places where history really happened on a free self-led visit or an expert-led Discovery Visit workshop. The following offers are included as part of The Great British School Trip:
FREE SELF-LED VISITS
You can bring your class to any of our sites entirely free of charge. We offer free entry to pre-booked schools, as well as free planning visits to help you make the most out of your day. Use our free downloadable resources to help with your planning and risk assessment.
EXPERT-LED WORKSHOPS
Award-winning and immersive Discovery Visits are available at selected sites from just £100 per session per class. Students of all ages and abilities can meet characters from the past, role-play or handle intriguing objects.
Venue Details
Contact
www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/osborne/schools/
Address
York Avenue, East Cowes
PO32 6JT. England
Opening Hours
April-October: Monday-Sunday 10-5pm. Discovery Visits available Monday-Friday November-March: Monday-Sunday10-4pm. Discovery Visits available Monday-Friday