Blog
Welcoming Schools Back After Lockdown
4th March 2022
I couldn’t be happier to report that at as I’m writing this, I can hear one school group in our lunch area having just learned about Francis Drake’s voyage around the world, and another onboard the ship learning about the history of pirates. Those on board have just shouted ‘bang’ as loud as they can, which is a sure sign that they’ve just had a go at loading one of our real cannons. This afternoon, I’ll be leading a group of GCSE students in our KS4 Spanish Armada workshop and giving them sense of life aboard the ship – hopefully without too many bumped heads.
It’s been such a pleasure to welcome schools back after lockdown. The Golden Hinde hasn’t been the same without them. Importantly, through the incredible efforts of all the team, we’ve been able to put a number of measures in place to ensure their safety, including a brand new ventilation system and hand sanitising stations. As a result, we’ve been certified ‘Covid Safe’ by Southwark Council.
Changes Aboard
What makes the return of schools even more exciting is that we have a whole set of updated tours and workshops to share with them. Whilst we really missed welcoming visitors aboard during lockdown, it gave us a chance to assess all our educational programmes and resources and come up with ways to make them better than ever.
Our primary aim was to make sure that all our programmes were as hands-on and engaging as possible. Some of the biggest changes were to our ‘Living History’ workshop, which has long been our flagship education programme. In the 3-hour workshop, pupils now explore our new and improved handling collection to work out the realities of life at sea for themselves, presenting their findings to the group in an Elizabethan ‘show and tell’.
Another notable change has been the inclusion of our brand new ‘Interactive Maps’. As part of the pre-visit resources, schools taking part in our KS2 programmes are now provided with access to our digital maps which allow them to explore the histories which surround the ship before they arrive. Our maps use mini-games and ‘choose your own adventure’ style challenges for a fun and engaging way for children and young people to think about the past.
I’m pleased to say that the response to our Maps has been really good, and we’ve noticed their impact here at the ship. Pupils arrive with a clearer understanding of the ship’s historical context and all the more ready to get stuck into to the workshops and ask insightful questions. They’ve been so successful, that we are currently working on versions for KS3 and 4 which will be ready over the next couple of months.
“The education programme on offer at The Golden Hinde is probably the most impressive I've ever seen at a venue. It is so well thought out - there's clearly been a huge effort gone into the making of the education offering.”
- Year 3 teacher, Brookfield Primary School
Book with us
If you’d like to book a school visit, or find out more about our programmes, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by emailing me at
I’d love to hear from you.
