Learning

Educational visits are welcome at Layer Marney Tower any time of year. Our Educational Officer has an exciting range of educational programmes for all Key Stages. We are very proud of the Sandford Award that we have received in recognition of our outstanding contribution to heritage Learning. We also run a Forest School, Outward Bound activities as well as Team and Confidence building activities. We can work with classes, groups, special needs and home educated children.

Explore Layer Marney Tower

 

Early Learning

Developing the story is a key part of our Early Learning activities. It includes lots of doing and chatter, drawing out areas of literacy, mathematics and art as the day progresses. It also offers a chance to broaden an understanding of the world.

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Key Stage 1

Building on the story telling the children have the opportunity to think about some of the experiences in History. Each Activity has its own experiences built in. With advance notice themes or ideas can be introduced to match where you are in the Curriculum.

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Key Stage 2

Aimed at KS2 children we offer a wide range of historic periods where the children are able to touch, hear and handle things from life in the past. The topics range from Stone Age to the Victorians, Egyptians to Meeting the Ancestors and most popular of all the Tudors.

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Outdoor Activity Days

Set in 120 acres of countryside the aim of Outdoor Activity Days is to build confidence, observation, understanding of oneself and others and to develop teamwork.

You can bring a school group, a children’s party or afterschool group and have some good outside fun!

Grown ups are welcome too.

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Gallery

Testimonials

  • Testimonial – Education

    • “Our trip to Layer Marney Tower for the Vikings module has been one of the best trips I have ever taken a class on. The children were engaged the entire day and were able to take part in the most fantastic experiences that we just cannot replicate at school. Hilary was utterly brilliant, she is clearly very experienced and incredibly knowledgeable and Rowan class learnt so much from her. All of the children said how much they loved her and how this trip was their favourite!! The set up of the day was fantastic, there wasn’t a moment wasted and it felt like we were really able to get the most out of our trip. I will be highly recommending Layer Marney Tower to any teacher friends and colleagues that will listen. Thank you again for the most amazing day!!!”
      Chipping Ongar Primary, February 2023
    • “Thank you for a fantastic visit. The whole day was very well organised and the quality of the teaching was brilliant. Our children were like sponges and have retained lots of key facts about the Vikings. Thank you for a great day!”
      St Michael’s Primary, March 2023
    • “We had a wonderful day learning about the Tudors with Hilary and Jackie. The children were organised well from arrival and immediately thrust into activities, which were timed well throughout the day. The children came away from the day enthusiastic and a number of parents have already said their child did not stop talking about the trip when they got home. The leaders were very knowledgeable and interesting to listen to and learn from. The adults (as well as the children) enjoyed the day. Thank you very much for organising such a wonderful day for our school.”
      Fairways Primary, June 2023
    • “It was a fantastic day learning about the Greeks – all of the staff were very welcoming and had good behaviour expectations and boundaries. It was great that we had the whole place to ourselves – this made it very safe for the children. The module choices were great and we even changed one of our choices 2 days before the trip which they happily accommodated. All of the children loved it and are still talking about it now! Thank you!”
      Mildmay Primary School, June 2023
    • “All Children and adults had a fantastic day enjoying all elements of our Tudor experience. So much information was shared and we all got a real sense of stepping back in time. Thank you for a great experience!”
      Purleigh Primary School, October 2023
    • “Year 2 had a very enjoyable day at Layer Marney Tower learning about the Great Fire of London. We had a lovely tour of the tower and building and Hilary was very knowledgeable about the setting and shared some wonderful facts with the children. The children said their favourite part was climbing the tower! It was lovely to eat our lunch in the great hall where we had lit the fire. It was a beautiful setting and a change from the school hall! The chalk silhouette artwork was a hit and the children were very proud of what they produced. Thank you for a lovely day.”
      Layer De La Haye, November 2023
    • “A very jam-packed day out! Lots of information taught and activities were fun and engaging. We definitely got our money’s worth, and it was worth every penny. I loved how the children also had two things from two different activities that they were able to take home, they were great keepsakes.”
      Stanford le Hope Primary School, November 2022
    • “The day was a fantastic experience for the year group. As we were studying the Tudors, to be able to walk around the grounds and into several buildings was brilliant. The guides that we had were extremely helpful and knowledgeable, answering questions and providing history lessons on the subject we chose. I would recommend Layer Marney Tower as it was a great educational day out and everyone really enjoyed the experience.”
      Essex Primary School Year 5 – Tudors
    • “The children absolutely loved the fact they could actually touch, hold and try on the knight’s clothing and armour. The archery was a huge success, as was climbing the spiral staircase to the top of the Tower. Hilary and Jackie were both great and their knowledge and enthusiasm really helped to make the day so successful. The adults all enjoyed it too.”
      Essex Primary School Year 2 – Tudors
    • “Our children thoroughly enjoyed their day and loved the ‘yucky’ details of Tudor life shared. Good range of Tudor activities offered. Thank you!”
      Suffolk Primary School – Tudor Day
    • “Sharon was very helpful when booking this trip.  She communicated our needs to Educational staff and tailor made the trip for our class.  All relevant paperwork was emailed out, making it easy for me to fill in our school risk assessment form. It was one of the most calm and easiest trips I have taken a class on. Activities were well organized and practical. All resources were of good quality and the children enjoyed taking part and liked the fact they could take home what they had made. Hillary had great management of the children and all children took a great deal of knowledge back to school with them. The facilities were outstanding and we liked the fact that Layer Marney was safe and we were the only school.”
      Suffolk Primary School – Tudor Day
    • “Our children thoroughly enjoyed their day and loved the ‘yucky’ details of Tudor life shared. Good range of Tudor activities offered. Thank you!”
      Benyan Primary School
    • “There is not anything we feel could be improved. The children had a fantastic day, learnt lots and enjoyed themselves. The adults leading the sessions were very good and strong with behaviour management, assessing the risks and answering the children’s questions. The children got a lot out of the day and we’d love to come back soon! Thank you.”
      Chase Lane Primary School
    • “The children all had a great time and it was highly valuable seeing them use what they had learned in the classroom and put it into a real-life context in a real Tudor palace. The staff were highly knowledgeable and ensured that the Tudor content was accessible for our Year 2 children and adapted it as necessary. The day ran smoothly and the children enjoyed the hands-on experiences. We will definitely be taking future year groups to Layer Marney Tower in the years to come. Thanks very much.”
      King’s Ford Infant School and Nursery
    • “I thoroughly enjoyed the day at Layer Marney (it was my first time visiting). The children also enjoyed their day at gained a lot of knowledge from it. The adults leading the modules were very engaging and were very knowledgeable and could answer any question. They were confident in front of the children and were able to take control of the groups when needed and the children responded to them. I learnt a lot from them myself! I will be booking up for next year’s trip!!”
      Millhouse Primary School and Nursery
    • “Thank you for providing such a well structured and organised day. The children and I really enjoyed every minute!”
      Purfleet Primary School
    • “Children were fully motivated; teaching staff were fun, informative and able to assess children’s needs quickly. The venue and facilities were clean and easily accessible. We had a wonderful day!”
      Rise Park Junior School
    • “Just a quick email to pass on our thanks to Hilary for yesterday. The children had a great day, and we were all very impressed with the way she led the lessons, and her excellent subject knowledge – some of the girls were still in shock that by now they would have been married!”
      Upshire Primary School

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