Guided school visits at RHS Garden Wisley

Bring your students for a guided visit with workshops for schools and home-education groups in our flexible learning spaces

Please submit a school visit enquiry form to book a guided or self-guided school visit.
For summer 2025, primary school workshops are now full, but we have availability in both the autumn and spring terms. Workshops for secondary schools are still available to book all year and self-guided visits for all ages are available throughout the year during school term time.

School workshops

Our exciting workshops offer hands-on sessions for children at Foundation Stage, and in Primary and Secondary schools (KS1-5) including those with special educational needs (SEN). Download our brochure to see the diverse range of workshops we have on offer for schools at Wisley:

PRIMARY SCHOOL BROCHURE SECONDARY SCHOOL BROCHURE

Wisley Primary School workshops brochure Wisley Secondary School workshops brochure

How to book guided visits and workshops

  • To book a Home Education workshop please see details below
  • Please note: Free entry on your pre-visit only applies to teachers who will be accompanying children on the day of the school visit
  • Use our self-guided resources to help you plan the self-guided part of your day
  • Please help Wisley create less waste and pollution by carrying home and recycling your lunchbox rubbish

All pre-booked educational visits are free of charge. If you feel able to give a donation to the RHS to help support our educational work this would be much appreciated; we ask you to consider a donation of £3 per child for your visit.

Secondary school workshops

We have a range of workshops suitable for Secondary school guided visits (KS3-5), which can be adapted to suit your requirements.

Workshops: Suitable for Key Stages 3 and 4

Science
  • Plant reproduction and clone wars: Be an RHS Judge, a bee and a plant cloner all in one engaging workshop. Understand plant sexual and asexual reproduction by developing the practical skills required by commercial growers. Discover the benefits and challenges of plant reproduction for food security
  • Plants keep us cool: carbon cycle: Plants are cool, not least to the air around them. Explore the cooling effect of leaf transpiration by using infrared thermometers to investigate the relative temperatures of leaves and hard surfaces. Learn how plants photosynthesise to capture carbon
  • Plants under attack (KS4 only): Solve the mystery of what’s killing our plants in this investigatory-based workshop. Uncover the hidden world of pathogens and their impact on plants. Learn to spot and identify diseases on garden plants and offer suitable recommendations to remedy problems

Science and Geography
  • Beneath your feet – rocks and soils: Discover the hidden depths of rocks and soil and appreciate how soils are vital to our existence – from food to air. Understand how soil is the first step in our food chain, through scientific exploration of rocks and degradation, soil and decomposition
  • Biomes and plant adaptations: Adventure awaits as you explore the world’s biomes – find hot deserts, steamy rainforests, frozen mountains and temperate woodland, all in our unique garden setting. Discover how plants have evolved to thrive in these different environments and be challenged to link plant structure to form and function
Science and Art
  • Inspirational nature: Find inspiration in our garden and allow students to reflect and respond to the shapes, colours and textures of plants. Discover the relationship between form and function in nature and their vital role in the life cycle of a plant. Create an organic sculpture from clay and plant seeds to take home

Seasonal horticulture: Suitable for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5

  • Spring: Learn how to support, protect and maintain healthy plants. Work as a team to build a structure suitable for growing beans and other climbing plants
  • Summer: Learn how to maintain healthy plants while embracing wildlife and sustainable growing techniques. Harvest and taste a little bit of produce from the garden

  • Autumn and winter: Discover why plants are important and how we look after them during autumn and winter. Learn how to prepare soil, sow seeds and meet our Wisley worms
  • Gardening Green (all year round): Explore how to garden sustainably, working with nature, not against it. Develop your knowledge and school garden with wildlife and biodiversity in mind. Investigate proven methods of increasing carbon capture to grow healthy plants and create seed balls to sow a wildflower meadow

Special educational needs (SEN) workshops

All of our workshops can be adapted for SEN groups. Students especially enjoy the practical and vocational aspects of our workshops.

Home education workshops

Bring your home-schooled family or group to RHS Garden Wisley for a day of discovery and guided workshops with our Education Officers. We have reserved a selection of term-time days throughout the year for home-educated learners to explore our inspiring gardens. On these days, take part in a 90-minute art or science workshop run from 10.30am.

For further information regarding home education visits at Wisley, see our frequently asked questions.

  • Science focused workshops – explore the importance of plants and discover their lifecycles, habitats and some amazing adaptations

  • Art focused workshops – enjoy highlights of seasonal colour, shape and texture and experience sensory learning around the garden

Search home education workshops

Frequently asked questions

Booking a visit

To arrange a guided or self-guided school visit, please complete and submit the school visit enquiry form. We will reserve one of your preferred visit dates and send you a booking form to complete. Please get in touch with the Schools Team at Wisley if you have any questions or specific requirements.

Get in touch

Call: 01483 212432
Email: [email protected]
Sign up: receive our RHS Schools updates


More about self-guided visits

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.