Year 6 Residential to York 3-5 July 2017

Why York? York is a city steeped in history and full of beautiful architecture and important monuments. A sense of the passing of time is on every street with ancient buildings at every turn. The city is in close proximity to and an easy journey from London, but is a completely contrasting environment. The small size of the city and walkable nature of central York makes it ideal for a school visit.

Transport Direct trains travel between King’s Cross and York regularly throughout the day on the Grand Central service. Journey time 2 hours. A service is also provided by Virgin trains.

Accommodation The Fort is a boutique hostel in the centre of York, close to all main attractions and very close to the Minster.

Facilities The hostel has private accommodation which would be accessed by the school group only. The main door is code locked. The hostel enables boys and girls to be accommodated on different floors; there are sufficient rooms for male and female staff to have rooms on relevant floors. Accommodation is a mixture of bunk rooms and twin rooms. Some rooms are ensuite, others will use shared bathrooms. All facilities are clean and well maintained. A common room with kitchen facilities will enable children to relax together and to make their own breakfast.

Food Day 1: Packed Lunch, 2 course dinner at hostel (adjoining restaurant – private area) Day 2: Breakfast (self catering), Packed Lunch, 2x course dinner at Pizza Express. Snacks and drinks provided

York Minster Children will visit the Minster and have the opportunity to explore the building, its history and the people who have been connected with this important church building.

York Walls Children will have the opportunity to walk the ancient walls of the city to absorb the history and the view.

Clifford’s Tower The ruined keep of the medieval Norman castle. Originally built on the orders of William I to dominate the former Viking city of York. Clifford’s Tower is one of the best-loved landmarks in York. It is the largest remaining part of York Castle, once the centre of government for the north of England. The 11th-century timber tower on top of the earth mound was burned down in 1190. The present 13th-century stone tower was probably used as a treasury and later as a prison.

Castle Museum Museum detailing the history of York over time with exhibitions relating to various periods of British history. Workshops for children include: Medicine in Victorian England and the Shops and Streets of York

National Railway Museum

City Walking Tour

Risk Assessment Although no educational visit or residential is completely without risk, this trip is deemed ’low risk’. Prue Barnes-Kemp and Lisa McIntyre completed an exploratory visit to York to assess the viability of the trip and deemed it a suitable venue for a primary school residential visit. The city is physically accessible, small in size and easy to navigate. Usual precautions will be required when visiting Clifford’s Tower and when walking the city walls and all other activities present as extremely safe and therefore low risk. The hostel is well designed to accommodate groups such as ours with gender specific rooms. Detailed risk assessments will be completed for the specific activities and to address any individual needs of participants.

Cost Costs have yet to be finalised and will depend on the number of children choosing to attend the visit. It is estimated that the maximum cost will be £150.