Hollycombe's Schools’ Days give you the opportunity to discover how steam engines work and to enjoy a day experiencing the rides and atmosphere. It is a day outside the classroom with real machines – NO VIDEO PRESENTATIONS, JUST THE REAL THING!!
Hollycombe offers opportunities to cover many parts of the curriculum including:
- History: The Industrial Revolution, Victorian and Edwardian life
- Geography: Farming, Transport, Geology / Rocks
- Engineering: Mechanics of steam power, Steam and diesel propulsion, Pulley systems
- Science: Properties of Steam, Chemistry of combustion
- Design and Technology: Fairground art, Mechanical design
- Maths: Money management, Measurements
- English: Reports of the day out, Letter writing, Specialist technical language
Each Schools Day starts at 10am and ends at about 2pm. It includes time to ride on the railway and fair, have talks on varying aspects of steam and the Industrial Revolution, time to visit our souvenir shop and have a picnic lunch in the grounds.
Hollycombe is suitable for all ages, from Playgroups to sixth forms. All sizes of groups are welcome, although we recommend larger groups divide up for the talks so everyone can see and hear.
Every school booking a visit during our Schools’ Days receives our Resource Pack free of charge, which includes information on the history of steam, the Industrial Revolution, railways, road steam, work sheets and much more to help in the preparation for your visit. This is also available at a cost of £6.00 (including postage) to those not visiting.
Hollycombe is a Charitable Trust run by volunteers. As such we have to limit the number of weekday openings as volunteers take annual leave to run our Schools’ Days.
Find out more
You can view details of our education facilities and more on our general visitor information pages. If you have any further questions, please complete our enquiry form or you can call our Schools Liaison Officer, Mrs Rosemary Gooding, on 01483 274855 or email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Talks Available
- An introduction to the Industrial Revolution
- A guided tour of a Steam Engine, to show the principles of its operation
- A tour of the Farm including the Barn with its steam-powered machinery
- A talk on Rail Transport – steam and diesel locomotives, track and signalling
- An illustrated talk showing the development of the Fairground
- Rocks associated with Hollycombe