School’s out! The best field trip attractions in London

Built under William the Conqueror a mere millennium ago, the Tower of London has served as a fortress, a palace, a prison and a zoo in its time. It’s where two of Henry VIII’s wives were beheaded (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, since you’re asking), where Henry VI was murdered in 1471 and where the children of Edward IV – known as the Princes in the Tower – vanished without trace in 1483. 

The place is a living relic which, today, holds the secrets of the iconic Beefeaters, the loyal Yeoman Wardens who preside over its storied halls (and the Crown Jewels within). Glimpse the mystical black ravens, steeped in superstition, said to protect the city. It's a plunge into not just the Tower's annals but also the very essence of London's history.

As your adventure unfolds, make your way to the Crown Jewels and prepare to goggle in awe at the OTT opulence of it all: orbs, swords, scepters, amulets, rings and, of course, the famous St Edward’s Crown, as worn by both Elizabeth II and Charles III at their coronations.

Read our complete guide to visiting the Tower of London.

Chock-full of cool clocks, navigational timepieces and great big enormous telescopes, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich all but guarantees a good (ahem) time for the science-minded. Probably the best guide to life, the universe and everything you’ll find anywhere in London town, the observatory is the birthplace of Greenwich Mean Time and home of the Prime Meridian line, allowing your class to straddle east and west hemispheres simultaneously like some sort of many-legged colossus. There’s also a planetarium, a camera obscura, a telescope so large it needs its own building, and a cool timey-wimey rooftop contraption of old: head outside the ultra-fancy Flamsteed House at precisely 1PM to watch a big red ball drop down its pole at precisely 1PM – mariners, clockmakers and Greenwich locals have been setting their watch by this for two centuries! 

Wow your students with our cheat’s guide to time, space and the Royal Observatory.

For your biology class, a school trip to Kew Gardens is a perfect blend of education, exploration and inspiration. Kids will be able to immerse themselves in a world of botanical wonders, diverse ecosystems and rare plant species.

The garden's living classroom provides an interactive platform for biology, environmental science and geography lessons. It's a hands-on approach to learning that sparks curiosity and fosters an appreciation for the natural world. But Kew Gardens is not just about science; it's also a place where art and history converge. The iconic glasshouses, Victorian architecture, Chinese-style pagoda, treetop walkways and historic landscapes offer plenty more insights into human creativity and horticultural heritage.

On top of all that, Kew is also just a lovely, serene place that'll calm and occupy even the most hectic of children. And that, as any teacher will tell you, is absolute gold.

We’ll just leaf our guide to London’s best gardens here.

If you're a drama teacher and you’re wondering where to take your troublemakers, you could do far worse than immersing them in the actual origins of modern Western theater at Shakespeare's Globe.

Architecture aficionados, bookworms and drama kings and queens: all are bound to be thrilled by this lovingly reconstructed replica of the bard’s 17th-century London playhouse. Take the class on a tour that reveals the theater’s long history, including what it would have been like in ol’ Willie’s day, what started the fire that caused it to burn down in 1613, and how it was painstakingly put back together in the 1990s by actor and director Sam Wanamaker. No, silly, not just by him!

A complete guide to visiting Shakespeare’s Globe.

The London Transport Museum is a treat and a half for kids of all ages. Yes, even you grandpa. Set inside a former Victorian flower market in Covent Garden, it’s an engaging and interactive museum that – through some frankly excellent exhibits and simulators – provides a tangible link to the history and development of London's extensive public transport system.

You and your class will explore vintage Victorian omnibuses, sit in the driving seat of an iconic Routemaster, board O.G. London Underground carriages and more, all while gaining insights into how innovations in mass transit helped shape the city.

But that’s not all: a truly eye-popping collection of vintage advertising and information posters from the golden age of travel adds context and includes pieces by bona fide artists like Edward McKnight Kauffer, Dora M Batty and John Hassall. You can pick up a couple of repro copies for the classroom as you exit through the gift shop.

Eight interesting London Transport Museum facts to wow the kids with.

Go for the wow factor on a tour of one of London’s greatest landmarks. Even the most easily distracted teen won’t fail to be awed by Westminster Abbey, a grand gothic masterpiece that oozes history from every arch, tower and elaborately molded cornice. Explore its vast, hushed halls beneath dramatic vaulted ceilings and interiors dappled with kaleidoscope colors from the central stained glass rose window. Students can eyeball the medieval Coronation Chair while thinking of the many regal derrieres that have graced it over the last seven centuries, plus the elaborate Lady Chapel and the Poets’ Corner, final resting place of historic literary giants including Chaucer, Browning and Dickens.

Discover the darker side of Westminster Abbey.

Europe’s largest cantilevered observation wheel towers a leg-trembling 443 feet over the South Bank of the River Thames, and is a great choice for school trips thanks to its generous 25-person capsule capacity. Step aboard the London Eye for a spine-tingling 30-minute spin that takes in birds-eye views of some of London’s most prized historic landmarks. We’re talking Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, The Shard, St Paul’s Cathedral and even, on a clear day, the distant turrets of Windsor Castle.

Best of all, your captive audience means no chance of easily distracted kids wandering off after being enchanted by one of those ubiquitous spraypainted human statues.

Spotter’s guide to landmarks you can see from the London Eye.

Only the largest collection of its kind on the planet (eight million artifacts and counting, fact fans!), the British Museum is an eye-popping world of discovery for kids of all ages. Highlights of the permanent collection include the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles (ancient Greek statues from the Parthenon), a two-headed Aztec serpent sculpture, and an Easter Island statue. Whether these remarkable pieces (and others) belong in the museum or should be returned to the countries from whence they came is guaranteed to be a lively topic for class discussion.

The former power station that houses the Tate Modern is as much a work of art as its contents, its red-brick facade and that sky-piercing chimney stack absolute catnip for Insta-loving teens. Step inside for a tour that showcases the best of modern and contemporary art and to experience the cavernous Turbine Hall, the five-story former home of the station’s electricity generators that is now used to host specially commissioned installations from the likes of Louise Bourgeois, Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor. Elsewhere in this huge space, visitors can ogle modern masterpieces by Pollock, Picasso, Rothko, Klee, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and more, plus wonderful selections from Monet’s iconic Water-Lilies series. Truly mind-expanding stuff.

Looking for jaw-dropping wow moments that your students will be talking about for weeks to come? Then look no further than the Natural History Museum, where no less than 80 million objects chart the entire history of our planet, and humankind’s place in it. We’re talking 4.5-billion-year-old meteorites, staggeringly large triceratops skulls, ancient ammonites and even a lump of actual moon rock. Something, in other words, for every inquisitive young mind. Self-guided visits to the museum can be combined with curriculum-linked workshops and shows devised specifically for school groups.

Hop just next door to South Kensington’s other big-ticket attraction, the wonderful Science Museum, where kids can have their minds blown by the wonders of modern technology. Among the amazing treasures here, you can see 1813 steam locomotive Puffing Billy, a vertical takeoff airplane, and the actual Apollo 10 command module. There’s plenty of interactive fun to be had, too: for a real treat, book entry to the museum’s IMAX cinema, or to the Wonderlab where the range of hands-on activities includes cool chemistry experiments, circuit wiring, pulleys, and giant slides that demonstrate the power of friction. The live chemistry shows are pretty cool, too! It’s an experience that’s all but sure to secure your teacher of the year award.