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Introduction
School visits around RHS gardens place children in direct contact with a wealth of practical horticulture, specialist knowledge and the sheer beauty and range of plant diversity. It is an ideal way to increase their interest and enthusiasm for growing plants.
RHS Education Officers are experienced in leading school groups and bring elements of the National Curriculum to life. With exciting and topical activities that are designed to capture and engage young minds, school children are actively invited to learn more about plants, gardens and the natural environment.
All four RHS gardens - Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire host school visits. Education Officers based at each site will lead the visit. The programme in each of the four gardens (see below) is adapted to suit the particular garden. A school representative should contact the relevant Education Officer to arrange a pre-visit. If you would like a topic covered that does not appear on the programme, then please discuss your requirements with the Education Officer.
At certain times of year themed days are offered, generally in conjunction with national initiatives, such as tree week or apple days.
Documents regarding school visits
Download the following documents as Adobe Acrobat pdfs:
Requirements for school visits
(397KB)
Guidance for making a risk assessment for school visits
(108KB)
Successful Science Trips
(248KB)
Health & safety on educational visits
(information from the teachernet website)
To view these documents you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader. We strongly recommend that you download the latest version to prevent problems viewing the documents. This is available free from the Adobe website. Click on the logo to go to the website.
Programmes, events and contact details for RHS gardens
RHS Garden Wisley
Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB
The Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley opened in June 2007 and contains the Clore Learning Centre. The Clore Learning Centre includes a Discovery Room, glasshouse Growing Lab and toilets designed to meet the needs of children.
More detail
View the programme of school visits at RHS Garden Wisley
Contact by e-mail
More information on RHS Garden Wisley
RHS Garden Rosemoor
Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH
The garden and woodland at Rosemoor offer visiting school parties a wonderful chance to learn in a completely different environment. Seventeen different topics, all linked to the National Curriculum, cater for pre-school, KS1 and KS2 children. These include Colours, The Senses, How do Plants Grow, Trees in Winter, Wildlife in the Woodland, Plant Adaptations, Garden Writer, Christmas in the Garden, Leaf Art and Garden Design. The topics vary according to the seasons and all combine theory and practical work, with the summer term the most popular. Book early to avoid disappointment.
All topics are held partly in the garden/woodland and partly in our Log Cabin Classroom, which is set near the woodland and surrounded by a Devon hedge and its own grassed area. Packed lunches can be eaten in the cabin, or outside depending on the weather.
Many children, even from rural areas know very little about nature and some have never been in a wood. They love visiting the garden, as you can see from some of their comments:
"It was fun when we made Jamie into a plant."
"You will never want to leave."
"To Sarah, thank you for our trip it was the BEST! It rocks."
Schools come mainly from North and mid-Devon, but also from North Cornwall and Somerset. Some schools visit every year, some classes come each term, some bring the entire school over several weeks.
View the programme of school visits at RHS Garden Rosemoor
Contact by e-mail
More information on RHS Garden Rosemoor
RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET
View the programme of school visits at RHS Garden Hyde Hall
Contact by e-mail
More information on RHS Garden Hyde Hall
RHS Garden Harlow Carr
Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 1QB
In addition to the ornamental gardens, Harlow Carr is home to meadows, woodland, ponds, kitchen garden and much, much more, offering an exciting resource to support and enhance the school curriculum.
We cater for pre-school, KS1&2, special schools and gardening clubs, but we are very happy to design sessions to suit your needs. The curriculum-linked topics make use of the seasons and all involve an exploration of our exciting and inspiring environment. We are also happy to design sessions to suit your needs. Spring/summer sessions need to be booked early in the school year to ensure a place.
Our classroom is situated in the picturesque Study Centre at the bottom of the garden. This will also be available at lunchtime but packed lunches can also be enjoyed in the garden.
Pack for self-guided visits
We have created a pack and supporting documents to help you get the most from self-guided visits to Harlow Carr.
View the pack and its contents
Download an Adobe Acrobat pdf (1.1MB) of the programme of workshops for primary schools at RHS Garden Harlow Carr
Contact us by e-mail
More information on RHS Garden Harlow Carr