Educational, interactive and fun!
We are delighted to introduce our new educational visits that we will be holding at Stonor Park which link into the National Curriculum.
The Stonor family have lived here for 850 years and its current custodians, Lord and Lady Camoys are the 29th generation of the family to look after it. At Stonor we have the main house, parkland, a chapel and a magical adventure playground called Tumblestone Hollow. They are rich learning resources which can support EYFS, KS1 and KS2 History, RE, Geography and Art & Design.
Schools are welcome to stay at Stonor all day, doing an educational tour of the house, gardens and chapel together with a visit to Tumblestone Hollow, our magical adventure playground. Our aim is for visits to be educational, interactive and fun!
We have designed a trail to guide children around Stonor House accompanied by one of our Guides. The trail explores the historic and religious significance of Stonor and celebrates arts and crafts in the house. It is aimed at KS2 children but has been designed to be interactive and used in different ways by teachers, for example, as a spotter sheet with younger pupils.
A half or whole day trip to Stonor Park will support a number of areas of the EYFS curriculum. Below we have made some suggestions for pre and post visit activities to prepare and follow up a visit to Tumblestone Hollow.
Show children Tumblestone Hollow video
Class reads ‘The Legend of Tumblestone Hollow’
VISIT
Children play in Tumblestone Hollow
Children have a storytelling session on-site, listening again to the ‘The Legend of Tumblestone Hollow’.
I spy session pointing out things from the book to develop listening skills and strengthen vocabulary. This could include a walk down to the House to see the stones in situ.
Read the second book, ‘The Moonwitch and the Thief’ about the witch who tries to steal the moon stone.
Children decorate 3 smooth stones with characters or objects inspired by Tumblestone Hollow or animals they saw in the house. They then tell a story based on the stones. An extension activity could encourage them to draw more stones, or pictures, continuing their story.
Our suggested programme for EYFS pupils is also suitable for Key Stage 1 children. They could compare the living trees at Stonor to wood used to create Tumblestone Hollow and creating their own picture story book based in Tumblestone Hollow, inspired by the books, KS1 children would be meeting the Science and Art &Design curriculum targets:
SCIENCE: Plants, Living things and their habitats: Pupils should be taught to explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive
ART & DESIGN: use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination.
A visit to Tumblestone Hollow could be combined with a visit to the House, Chapel or gardens. Activities which could be added, to extend the day, or enable larger groups to visit and rotate are suggested below:
Pupils should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms.
Pupils should be taught about significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.
Suggested activities
Visit to Stonor House
Our interactive trail is designed for KS2, but can be adapted for younger pupils.It meets history and art & design attainment targets.Use the downloadable timeline to contextualise key dates with wider national events.
Use the ‘I-spy’ markers on the interactive trail to encourage younger pupils to look for specific objects, and notice the work of arts and crafts people. Encourage them to record their observations. You could introduce them to new vocabulary such as portrait, landscape, light, dark, shadow and different media through examples in the house.
Pupils should be taught:
to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work
Suggested activities
Post visit activities:
Each county has its own SACRE which advises on the curriculum
Suggested activities
Visit to the Chapel at Stonor
The Chapel has played a unique part in the history of English Catholicism. It survived 250 years of penal anti-Catholic legislation following the reformation.
Trips can be organised which could include a guided tour around the Chapel.
Below we have outlined how a half or whole day trip to Stonor Park will support the following areas of the KS2 curriculum.
Pupils should know where the people and events they study fit within a chronological framework and identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods. They should use a wide vocabulary of everyday historical terms.
Pupils should be taught about significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.
Suggested activities
Visit to Stonor House
Our interactive trail is designed for KS2, but can be adapted for younger pupils.It meets history and art & design attainment targets.
Use the downloadable timeline to contextualise key dates with wider national events.
Use the ‘I-spy’ markers on the interactive trail to encourage younger pupils to look for specific objects, and notice the work of arts and crafts people. Encourage them to record their observations. You could introduce them to new vocabulary such as portrait, landscape, light, dark, shadow and different media through examples in the house.
Pupils should be taught:
to use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination
about the work of a range of artists, craft makers and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work
Suggested activities
Post visit activities:
Each county has its own SACRE which advises on the curriculum
Suggested activities
Visit to the Chapel at Stonor
The Chapel has played a unique part in the history of English Catholicism. It survived 250 years of penal anti-Catholic legislation following the reformation.
Trips can be organised which could include a guided tour around the Chapel.
All school visits need to be planned at least 2 weeks in advance. Our normal season is April to December but we can be flexible.
If you just want to visit Tumblestone Hollow please go here. If you would like to visit the House, or combine it with a visit to Tumblestone Hollow please email us at administrator@stonor.com or call on 01491 638 587 to arrange your visit.
Prices are £8.50 per child, minimum 12 children
This includes 1 free copy of our book per class, ‘The Legend of Tumblestone Hollow’. Accompanying adults are free at a ratio of 1 adult to 5 children. Additional adult prices are £10.
If you wish to visit Stonor prior to your booked school visit, please contact us at administrator@stonor.com or 01491 638 587. We can organise these at the weekend but only on non-event days. Here is our calendar that shows the dates we are open. These visits are complementary.
Stonor Park is situated approximately 19 minutes from Henley-on-Thames. Detailed instructions can be found here.
Coach and minibus parking is available in the main car park, by the Visitor Centre. Please enter the House through the East Wing entrance which is situated behind the Chapel. School visits start here. Due to the age and layout of Stonor House not all spaces are accessible. There is no lift to the first or second floors.
Schools can use the Aisled Hall in the House for storing coats, bags and eating pack lunches during inclement weather. Please request at time of booking. There are tables and benches outside within the perimeter of Tumblestone Hollow which schools can also use.
There are toilets in the House at the East Wing entrance which schools can use before and ruing their visit. Additional toilets are situated within the perimeter of Tumblestone Hollow. f you have children who may require quiet spaces during their visit, please talk to us when you are booking. If children would like to bring pocket money, please let us know in advance and we can organise a pop up shop for you at lunchtime with a selection of small items or small groups can visit the shop in the House.
Please bring clip boards and pencils for the children following our Activity Trail. This helps us look after the building and encourages students not to lean on the furniture.
Guided visits around the house will be led by Stonor Guides who are DBS checked. We will do our best to ensure that the environment is child-friendly and safe, by minimising risk. Teachers, and other adults accompanying children on a school visit are responsible for the children in their care, including accompanying any children to toilets. The adults in charge must deal with any medical emergency. All incidents should be reported to a member of the Stonor team.
It is the responsibility of the school making the booking to carry out a risk assessment. These notes are designed to assist, but not replace that task. We recommend a familiarisation trip which is complementary.
