Booking & Facilities - Blaenavon World Heritage Centre
Booking and Facilities
To book any session (facilitated or self led) please contact the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre on 01495 742333 or email blaenavon.tic@torfaen.gov.uk.
For telephone bookings, please have the following information available:
- Name of your school / organisation
- Name of the teacher / group leader
- Contact telephone number
- Contact email address (please note all correspondence will be done via email)
- Postcode
- Number of pupils
- Age Range/ key stage of pupils
- Number of staff accompanying you,
- Number of Pupils with additional educational needs
- Whether you require a lunch area
- If you require a shop visit or a goody bag facility.
Organising a Visit
Careful planning is vital to the success of your visit. A pre-visit to the site is recommended, although not a requirement.
Education Workshop Times
Our facilitated educational day starts at 10am, and 12.30pm for half day sessions. A full day session runs from 10am – 2.30pm. Should you school need different timings, please let the staff know at the time of your booking, and we can tailor your visit to your needs.
Victorian Classroom Workshop
The sessions focus on Victorian childhood and education. Pupils and teachers are able to dress up in costume and experience, first hand, a Victorian lesson in the Victorian classroom with a Victorian Teacher!
The Victorian childhood sessions are particularly suitable for key stage 2 pupils, with curriculum links to History, literacy and numeracy.
The activity is a half day and includes an introduction to the World Heritage Site, a Victorian school lesson and the following self led activities:
- ‘Victorian Playtime’ with traditional games such as penny toss, marbles and hoopla.
- ‘Hands on with History’ exploring our collections of Victorian artefacts
- Touch screens and films about Blaenavon’s rich history available in the Exhibition Room.
The half day cost for Victorian childhood is £75.
Self-led options are also available free of charge.
Your visit can include visits to other attractions on the World Heritage Site such as to the Blaenavon Ironworks or Community Museum:
Blaenavon Ironworks
Visit one of the best preserved 18th century Ironworks to be found anywhere in the world.
At the site you can immerse yourself in the Ironwork’s story through atmospheric artwork, audio and exhibitions.
Visit the Stack Square cottages and see how generations of workers lived and call into the Company Truck Shop to see how they shopped.
Self led visits are Free.
Blaenavon Community Museum
Based in the Blaenavon Workmen’s Hall, the volunteer-run Blaenavon Community Museum tells the proud story of the town and its people.
The museum displays items relating to the area’s social history, including churches & chapels, shops & businesses, choirs, sports teams, clubs & societies, ironmasters, schools, trade unions & friendly societies, as well as artefacts relating to the town’s war heroes.
The museum also has a special collection on the novelist Alexander Cordell, who wrote about Blaenavon’s industrial past.
Educational visitors will be given a guided tour of the museum, the Workmen’s Hall, and its impressive auditorium.
By arrangement, school parties can also see the town’s war memorial, located in the garden of the Workmen’s Hall, to learn more about Blaenavon’s fallen heroes.
Worksheets and ‘treasure hunts’ can be organised with prior arrangement.
Educational visits cost £1 per pupil/student.
Suggested Day Package
Max 60 students
Itinerary
| Time | Activity | |
|---|---|---|
| 10am | Group arrives at the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre and splits into 2 groups | |
| Group 1 | Group 2 | |
| 10 am | Victorian Childhood Experience at the World Heritage Centre | Tour of the Blaenavon Community Museum |
| 11am | Tour of the Blaenavon Community Museum | Victorian Childhood Experience at the World Heritage Centre |
| 12:15pm | Lunch at Blaenavon Community Museum | Lunch at Blaenavon Community Museum |
| 1pm | Depart Museum for Blaenavon Ironworks for guided tour | |
| 2:30pm | Depart Ironworks and return to school | |
Prices
- Educational facilitated tours at Blaenavon World Heritage Centre - £75 per session – includes ‘Victorian’ school master
- Self-led sessions at Blaenavon World Heritage Centre - Free
- Educational facilitated tours of the Blaenavon Community Museum -£1 per student
- Educational self led tours of Blaenavon Ironworks - Free.’
Teacher/pupil ratios
Appropriate ratios of children to adults are needed for the group overall and for specific activities. Dependant on the nature of the activities children may be divided into smaller groups of a maximum of 10 children. A maximum of 70 children per day visit are accepted, this is split into two maximum class sizes of 35. A minimum ratio of one adult per 8 children is required.
Payment
Your organisation will be invoiced after any facilitated trip, based on pupil numbers.
Facilities at the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre
Centre opening times - 10.00-17.00 - Tuesday - Sunday
Food and Drink
There is a café onsite for adults to use if purchasing lunch. This is not suitable for large groups of children, although packed lunches can be pre-ordered if required. A lunch area can be made available for children by booking in advance.
Gift Shop
There is a small gift shop with items both young and old can purchase for reasonable prices. There is not usually time allocated within activities to visit the shop, so if you would like to use the shop, please book a visit and this will be incorporated into your day. If there is not time to visit the shop, you can order goody bags in advance for a cost agreed with the facilities manager.
Toilets
Toilets (male/female/disabled) are situated on the ground floor of the Centre
Coaches and Parking
Dedicated coach drop-off and parking is available opposite the World Heritage Centre which is accessed by means of a pelican crossing.
Mobility and Access
The World Heritage Centre is fully-accessible to visitors with limited physical mobility. Audio-visual media is accompanied by hearing loops and subtitles. All information is available in English and Welsh; French is also available as an option for all audio-visual media and touch-screen interactive
General Information about the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre
Health and Safety and Child Protection
The Centre is run by Torfaen County Borough Council, which has relevant policies such as Health & Safety Policy and Child Protection Policy in place. Written emergency procedures are included in our Health and Safety Documentation, which is available on request.
The Heritage Centre is a newly refurbished building and therefore meets all the university statutory safety, health, environment and fire regulation requirements. Emergency evacuation procedures are in place and Fire Exits clearly marked. Fire alarms are tested regularly and on hearing the alarm at any other time visitors should leave via the marked Fire Exits and assemble as directed by staff.
CCTV is used in the Heritage Centre and its grounds.
First aid
There are qualified first aiders on site during opening hours.
Contact
If you wish to discuss your booking in detail, or have any specific requirements not covered by the booking procedure, please contact the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre on 01495 742333 or email blaenavontic@torfaen.gov.uk.