Discover more at The White Cliffs of Dover
Find out when The White Cliffs are open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.
School Visits and Learning at The White Cliffs of Dover
- Time to read:
- 5 minutes
Bring your class to The White Cliffs of Dover for an education experience they'll remember. We welcome pre-booked school and education groups and we offer a range of tours and activities available to book. The cliffs, their history, heritage and ecology hold endless opportunities to inspire the next generation.
The White Cliffs of Dover
The story of The White Cliffs of Dover stretches back to the megaflood over 400,000 years ago; but millions of years before, oceans full of tiny algal creatures called coccolithophores were forming the chalk that forms the cliffs. For centuries, the cliffs have formed a landmark for travellers and a natural front-line for defence of these shores. Landmarks at White Cliffs today show how the cliffs have been used throughout history, in peace and in war.
Ecology
Behind the cliffs, before the intensive farming of today, much of Kent and surrounding counties were chalk downland - grazed naturally by animals, both farmed and wild. Modern farming methods took over and chalk downland is now a rare environment. At The White Cliffs of Dover we are striving to re-create this environment, re-planting natural plant mixes and grazing the land with cattle and ponies, to create a balanced ecology once more.
An ideal place for education
The geology, history and ecology make The White Cliffs of Dover an ideal place to bring young people to study curriculum topics in real time. Our experienced staff and volunteers will help them understand how what they see relates to the topics they are studying.
We have included some of the details of what we can offer below.
Lighthouse tour
South Foreland Lighthouse was the world's first lighthouse to show an electric light, during experiments by Michael Faraday. The present day lighthouse was built in 1842-3 and remained operational until it was decommissioned in 1988.
Children can explore the outside and the five levels inside the lighthouse with one of our experienced guides. Learn why it was built, how it worked, the various stages of modernisation it went through and how it was damaged during WWII.
Fan Bay Deep Shelter and emplacement tour
Fan Bay gun battery was built on the orders of Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the early stages of WWII as part of the pledge to 'take control of the Strait by artillery'. The three, six-inch guns could fire a shell 14 miles.
The deep shelter provided living accommodation for the soldiers operating the guns, 23 metres underground, safe from the German shells and bombs. Your visit includes the recently unearthed gun emplacement, and the two First World War sound mirrors, an early means of detecting incoming hostile aircraft.
Children will be taken on a guided tour of the gun emplacement, tunnels and the sound mirrors and they can try the effect of the sound mirror themselves.
Activity sessions
Your group visit can be paired with a number of activity sessions, themed to complement the selected tour. Activity sessions can be tailored to suit the age/ability of the group. All activities take place at South Foreland Lighthouse.
Story day
Come and listen to stories about the sea, lighthouses and those who lived there.
Our expert story-tellers will make the books come to life, encouraging participation and inspiring young minds to take up reading for enjoyment. After the stories the children will be invited to talk about their favourite part of the story.
Nature art
For groups interested in ecology, our conservation landscape offers unique opportunities to study the plants and creatures of the chalk downland.
On the walk from the parking to the lighthouse, the children will use an identification sheet to observe and identify what they see during the walk. Once at the lighthouse the children will be given the opportunity to draw and create collages from natural objects.
The keeper's experience
Find out what it was like to be a lighthouse keeper in years gone by. Modern lighthouses are mostly run automatically and are not staffed, but before the 1960s, there were many jobs that had to be done to keep the lamps lit and the mechanisms working. The activities reflect some of the lighthouse keeper's duties, such as
- Cleaning the windows
- Recording the weather
- Ship spotting and recording
- Wildlife survey
- Sketching and labelling the various parts of our lighthouse.
Fieldwork
By arrangement, groups are welcome to use our diverse site (with a National Trust leader) for data collection and coursework relating to ecology, biology or geography fieldwork and citizen science projects such as Nature Overheard survey, wildflower surveys, Bio Blitz events and more.
Resources
For activities within the lighthouse, we will provide a guide (included in the cost). For fieldwork, we offer a National Trust staff leader and, where needed an experienced volunteer at an additional cost.
We are happy to discuss your requirements with you to ensure that we can best meet your needs. Group leaders are welcome to visit us prior to booking or during visit preparation.
Booking
We ask that all educational bookings are made at least four weeks in advance so that we can plan the content and ensure that all necessary safety precautions are in place. We can accommodate up to 30 students - we may need to stagger timings for large groups as the lighthouse tower and deep shelter staircases can only be used by one group at a time.
Education Group Access Pass
Schools or education groups can benefit from an Education Group Access Pass (formerly Education Group Membership or EGM), which gives the whole group free admission and parking at most of the places in our care for a year.
Please note: this must be purchased prior to your visit to ensure you get free entry on the day.
Get in touch
For more information and to book your group visit, please complete this enquiry form: https://forms.office.com/e/rSJ4u9s3z1?origin=lprLink