School sessions - FAQs

On-site school workshops take place in our new learning space at The London Archives in Clerkenwell. Students have the opportunity to see and handle a wide range of archival material, learn through a first-hand experience of primary sources and develop their analytical skills.

Due to high demand, our team are unable to guarantee the availability of any sessions before a form is submitted. Once we receive your form, we will send you a booking confirmation, at which point we will consider your booking as confirmed, or we will contact you to agree alternative availability. The timetable you receive in your confirmation correspondence is subject to change. We reserve the right to make any necessary changes and where possible you will be informed of any such changes.

Please read the following information as it contains important details that you, your staff and your students should be aware of before your visit to The London Archives. The health and safety of all visitors is of paramount importance, and we have taken all reasonable steps to provide a safe environment for all visitors and staff. Nonetheless, you should be aware that:

• The conduct of your staff and students must be appropriate at all times
• We can accommodate group sizes between 8-35 students at a time
• We have public liability insurance in place, but you must adhere to all requirements (including that of the LEA) for school visits of this type
• We have a safeguarding policy and procedures in place, and there is first aid cover

Staffing and supervision of pupils

• Your group must have the age-appropriate ratio of adults and students - following LEA guidelines
• You and your staff shall be responsible for your students, their conduct and safety whilst at The London Archives
• Your staff/any accompanying adults should remain with the students at all times throughout the visit and shall follow all instructions (including health, safety and security instructions) given to them by The London Archives team members
• The London Archives reserves the right to refuse access and to require you, your staff and pupils to leave the site (eg in the event of an emergency, for conduct reasons or otherwise)
• All of our workshops are available to home educator groups - please contact us for more details

Before your visit

• We will ask for a total number of students and adults on arrival, please have this to hand
• Students will be working in groups during the workshop, please support the facilitator by putting your class into groups that you know work well together. We normally have 5 groups of 6 children, but we can adjust this depending on class size
• We will ask for adults to help with doors on arrival and to support groups during the workshop, please let them know this as part of your briefing

Getting here

Please check our visit us section for details about our location and transport options.

Arrival

• On arrival, your group will be met at the Welcome Point on the Ground floor
• Please aim to arrive no more than 15 minutes before your workshop start time
• If you are running late, please let us know via email or phone
• If you arrive later than 30 minutes after your workshop start time, we may not be able to run the workshop as advertised
• Our morning workshops start at 10.30 and finish at approximately 12noon
• Our afternoon workshops start at 1pm and finish at approximately 2.30pm

Food and drink

• Packed lunches may be eaten in our lunchroom; please state you require this when booking
• For afternoon workshops, we may be able to offer the Learning Studio for you to eat your packed lunches, please state you require this when booking
• We don’t have a cafe onsite, although there are nearby shops and cafes if you need any emergency provisions

Other facilities

• Toilets are available near the Learning Studio and accessible room, the Huntley room. There are only 3-4 cubicles in each and one hand dryer, so please factor in time to use them during lunch and/or at the end of your workshop. Students must be supervised at all times during use of the toilets
• A prayer room is available for staff to use in the Visitor Lounge.

Cancellation policy

A cancellation fee of £50 is payable if a workshop booking is cancelled before 14 days of its scheduled date. If this happens, we will invoice you. Cancellations must be communicated in writing and acknowledged by The London Archives.

After your visit

Your comments and thoughts are of tremendous value to The London Archives. We would really appreciate you/your staff taking time to send us feedback on your visit.

• We may wish to contact you in the future for research purposes and to update you on new school projects at The London Archives.

We look forward to welcoming you!

If you have any queries, please contact us at tla.schools@cityoflondon.gov.uk. If you would like to talk to someone about your booking, please contact us on 020 7332 3820.