FREE school visits are available at Howsham Mill. All state-funded primary schools who are hiring a coach can apply for a £115 transport subsidy. Private schools and schools with their own transport are not eligible to apply. Schools with higher than average numbers of FSM pupils can apply for a slightly larger subsidy.
To book a school visit to Howsham Mill:
- Email edu.howshammill@gmail.com. Tell us your ideal dates (give several options – or a preferred half term), let us know approximately how many children will be coming, and which workshop you would like to do.
- We will email you a booking form (which includes information about applying for the subsidy) and a school visit briefing.
- Complete the booking form and return it to us.
- If you are eligible for a transport subsidy, send an invoice after your visit.
School visits are more relaxed when there is one class (of up to approx. 30 children) on site at a time. However, we can take up to 2 classes (around 60 children) on site at one time. Toilet facilities are limited. Availability for booking one class is much greater. We are taking bookings for the academic year 2025-2026.
Helen Spring, our Education Lead, is an experienced teacher, also working as a Primary Science and Outdoor Learning Consultant. Helen is the author of ‘Teaching Primary Science Outdoors’ and a Level 3 Forest School Practitioner.
Mel Boyeson, an Education Officer at Howsham Mill, is an experienced teacher, also working as a Primary Science Consultant. Mel is also a Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT) fellow.
Laura Bennett, an Education Officer at Howsham Mill, is an experienced scientist and teacher. Laura also runs her own business L & S Crafts, which includes workshops at Howsham Mill.
Most school groups come from 10am – 2pm, stopping for a lunch break with marshmallows toasted over the fire. Timings can be adapted to suit your group. In line with new EYFS guidance, EYFS children will not be given marshmallows.
We always advise a pre-visit before bringing school parties to the Mill. There is also a short video on YouTube which it may be helpful for teachers to watch in advance of your visit.
Information about our workshops, as well as comments from teachers, can be found below. Click for details.
You can download our 2025 – 2026 risk assessment for school visits here.
Covering KS2 geography objectives, children learn about the features of a river, make waterwheels and [...]
Learn about renewable energy at Howsham Mill – we generate hydroelectricity using a waterwheel and [...]
This workshop should take place in the spring, when there are flowering plants. Children use [...]
Explore Gears, Levers and Pulleys. Addressing Y5 science forces objectives, children will model gears, explore [...]
Children look for minibeasts in different habitats. KS1 children write ‘habitat postcards’ describing the habitats [...]
We have a class set of data loggers for children to explore. This workshop involves [...]
Come and join us for a full day of putting maths into a real life [...]
This workshop should take place in the autumn, when there are seeds on the plants. [...]
Find out what soil is made of. Carry out an investigation into the hardness of [...]
Spend the morning taking part in a mapping activity leading to 'treasure'. Cook s'mores over [...]
Children look for minibeasts in different habitats. LKS2 children are introduced to classification; UKS2 children [...]
Children identify parts of a plant and identify plants including trees. Typical KS1 day: 10.00am [...]
Children use their 5 senses in a range of outdoor activities. "The senses activities were [...]
Children explore camouflage, and how this adaptation helps animals to survive and reproduce. Typical day: [...]
Feedback
“Helen was a fantastic leader. She explained all the activities clearly and had planned and prepared well to ensure the day ran smoothly. Prior to the visit she was prompt returning emails and answering questions. Although there are a lot of potential risks on site, these were managed really well and at no point were the children in danger… The children had a fantastic day and really enjoyed all of the activities. All staff commented on how different it was to go on such an outdoors based visit and what an experience it was for many of our children who don’t often get that opportunity. It was lovely to see them take risks but in a safe environment. Many of them said it was their favourite trip ever!”
“We had a really enjoyable day. Both staff and children all came away happy and positive about the visit. From a leaders’ point of view, Mel and Helen have made the planning and running of the day go very smoothly and kept us at ease. Health and safety talks and reminders were frequent and clear. We had a great day!”
“The children really loved using the pooters and we do have these in school so I need to get them out and make sure they are used. Mel pitched everything just right for the age of the pupils and also didn’t flap or become impatient when we arrived late, she just switched things around a little maximise our time.
The children had a real sense of empowerment being trusted to toast their own marshmallows. Some of the children were only five and perhaps other places would have just handed the toasted marshmallow to the child but being able to do this themselves was great for their independence. Being able to access the Mill and the environment for free, complete with having a very experienced session leader was amazing and such a boost to extremely tight budgets. The activities will be transferable to our own school environment and we can’t wait to make more bug caravans and extend children’s learning outdoors.
We were only eligible for the basic subsidy, not the enhanced one for schools with higher number of pupil premium/free school meals children. It still made a significant difference to our decision to run the trip as the coach cost was £550 in total and we wouldn’t have felt able to pass all of this cost onto our parents.”
“Helen was a fantastic and very knowledgeable leader. She has clearly worked with children before and knows how to engage them in all activities from start to finish. We had a lovely day and can’t wait to come back!
The subsidy made the trip possible for the majority of children in my class. Without it, we wouldn’t have been able to come.”