SPELTHORNE SCHOOLS TOGETHER
Enhancing Achievement for our Children and Young People
INSPIRATIONAL SCHOOL TRIPS: MATHS
Academic Year 2013/14
As a confederation, we have agreed to provide one £200 grant to each member school who undertakes a Maths trip within this academic year 2013/14 and completes the SST
Inspirational Trips Feedback Form. The intention is to build up a catalogue of literacy trips, to make it as easy as possible for schools to book an inspirational trip for literacy in
the future, using our pooled knowledge.
Below please find some suggested trips, but you may have your own ideas for Maths trips, or one you’ve been doing for a while with pupils. Please complete and return the
application from before you go on your trip, and review the Feedback Form so that you know what you will be asked about after you have taken the trip. We are trying to build
up a catalogue of exciting trips – you can use this fund to supplement a regular trip, but we may need to review this if lots of schools apply for the same trip. (We will keep
members informed of trips applied for as we receive applications).
Venue
Detail
Cost
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3DG
Runs School Workshops on a variety of subjects including Maths on specific days.
Has teacher-led sessions ‘The British Museum Maths Challenge KS3’ and ‘Measuring the
Museum KS2’ for up to 70 students with resources for the teacher to lead. Example in pack
attached. Other teacher-led and free sessions available.
Teacher-Led sessions free but booking
required.
Other workshops start at £30 per ticket.
Bletchley Park Ltd
The Mansion
Bletchley Park
Milton Keynes
MK3 6EB
Schools, colleges and other educational establishments can take part in workshops,
demonstrations, tours and collection viewings at Bletchley Park that are not available to the
general public. We are continuously developing our on-site education programme to support
teachers and students of any age. These must be booked in advance as they are tailored to
primary school, secondary school or adult groups and include the following activities:
Primary schools:
 Codes & Ciphers
 The National Radio Centre
 Walking Tour of the Bletchley Park Site
 Handling Collection
 Home Front
 Enigma Cinema
 Toy Collection
Secondary schools, colleges and adults:
For those wishing to gain an insight into the importance of mathematics and history in the
codebreaking effort, the following talks and workshops are available:
 Codes & Ciphers – suitable for general audiences
 Mathematics of Enigma – most suited to students working towards higher level GCSE
(or equivalent) and beyond.
 Breaking Lorenz – Enigma’s Big Brother – a specialist talk aimed at students working
Download the appropriate booking form, and
send it to us making sure it arrives at least six
weeks before your visit date (or your booking
may be cancelled).
7 – 11 years old (Cost: £5 per student; 1 adult
free for every 5 students; extra adults £6 per
person)
12 – 19 years old (Cost: £8 per student; 1
adult free for every 5 students, extra adults
£8 per person)
Adult educational groups (Cost: £8 per
person)
A £50 cancellation fee may be charged to
groups who cancel 10 working days or less
before their visit.
Telephone
+44 (0) 1908 640404
SPELTHORNE SCHOOLS TOGETHER
Enhancing Achievement for our Children and Young People
towards the higher end of A-Level (or equivalent)
 History - how Bletchley Park had an impact on a number of major WW2 events
St. Paul’s Cathdral
St Paul's Churchyard
London
EC4M 8AD
Bank of England Museum
Bank of England,
Threadneedle St,
London, EC2R 8AH
Maths in the Milky Way (KS3)
Royal Observatory,
Blackheath Ave,
SE10 8XJ
See attached sheet for full details of workshops for primary and secondary schools.
Most relevant maths workshop:
All Shapes & Sizes ...NEW!
KS2
Maths, Science, RE & History come alive in a new way...
Explore the world of shapes, maths, forces, arches and angles. Practical arch
building, and drama to help them learn about the ‘sacred geometry’ of this amazing place.
Plus...Meet Sir Christopher Wren himself!
Half day sessions:
14 15 & 17 October 2013
27 - 30 January 2014
10 - 13 March 2014
28 - 30 April 2014
10 - 12 June 2014
The Bank of England Museum tells the story of the Bank of England from its foundation in 1694
to its role today as the United Kingdom's central bank.
The Museum offers a variety of talks and presentations for groups of between 15 and 50
visitors. They are designed for people of all ages, interests and abilities. All the talks and
presentations are free of charge and must be booked in advance. We recommend that visitors
attending a talk or presentation should allow an extra hour to view the Museum.
See separate sheet for further details of the talks.
In this session, students will explore the scale and variety of planets in our Solar System and in
other planetary systems in our Milky Way Galaxy using a range of mathematical techniques –
including calculations, unit conversions, and the construction and interpretation of graphs and
charts.
In the first part of the session, students will split into pairs to work through calculations using
the distance-time-speed relationship to learn how long it would take to travel to the planets in
our Solar System using various modes of transport.
Pooling their data, the class will construct a scatter graph of distance versus time, discussing
where and why a linear relationship is found in the data. They will go on to use this
understanding to read from their graph the travel time to a new place in space.
Next, pairs of students will calculate how long they would need to travel in a spaceship to reach
one of the extra-solar planets now known to orbit distant stars in the Milky Way. They will
compare these values with those obtained earlier, noting the vast difference in scale between
interplanetary and interstellar travel.
£3.60 per pupil (£3 + VAT). Maximum 30
pupils per guided tour.
NB. The Art Week is £4.80 per pupil (£4 +
VAT).
Admission and talks FREE (Booking required
for talks).
NB. St. Paul’s Cathedral & Bank of England in
close proximity. (12 mins walk).
Workshop Free, but there is an expectation
that you will purchase tickets for the Royal
Observatory as part of your trip: £45 for up to
15 pupils, £90 for up to 30 pupils.
SPELTHORNE SCHOOLS TOGETHER
Enhancing Achievement for our Children and Young People
Time permitting, they will go on to use real size and mass data for each planet to calculate the
strength of the gravitational field on the surface of their alien world relative to ours here on
Earth. They will consider how much heavier or lighter an everyday object would be on their
planet and have an opportunity to feel this weight difference in the classroom.
As a class, they will consider how graphs and charts would allow them to compare the
properties of exoplanets with those of planets in our own Solar System, addressing questions
such as “Are currently known exoplanets similar to our own?” and “How much do the
properties of planets vary in our Milky Way?”. Constructing bar charts of size, mass and/or
local gravity in the session or back in school, theyʼll be able to explore these questions through
maths.
Curriculum Links
Science Museum Mathematics Gallery
Exhibition Road,
South Kensington,
London SW7 2DD
KS3: Mathematical Processes and Applications: 1.4, 1.5; Number: 2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.8; Algebra:
3.2; Geometry and Measures: 4.4; Statistics: 5.2, 5.3; The Solar System & Beyond (Sci7L);
Gravity and Space (Sci9J)
Suggested duration: 30 minutes. Self-guided. Could be incorporated in cross-curricular trip as
there are many museums in SW7, along Exhibition Road and close by. It is also a short walk
from the Royal Albert Hall.
The Mathematics gallery combines instruments used by working mathematicians – such as
slide rules, drawing instruments and early analogue computers – with beautiful models
illustrating mathematical principles. The slide rules include the earliest dated example, and a
very large working model on which you can practise getting your sums right!
Our collection of drawing instruments start with a group found at the ruins of Pompeii, move
through the beautiful sets from the 17th and 18th centuries, and take in the drawing of
ellipses, spirals and much more complex shapes. Models begin with the Platonic solids and
include colourful uniform polyhedra, topological models and surface models which have
inspired artists such as Henry Moore.
This gallery is unique in showing a range of the uses of mathematical instruments: in gunnery,
carpentry, mapping, alcohol measurement and packing, for example.
As well as instruments with practical uses, the gallery is home to devices where utility is not
the prime objective, such as the harmonograph and geometric chuck, which can draw intricate
patterns. It also shows the presence of mathematics in nature with crystal structures, spiral
shells and horns. New additions focus on Euclidean and non-Euclidean mathematics, simple
tools to aid arithmetic – which are always in demand – and a set of glass topological surfaces.
Free
Self-guided visit.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
SPELTHORNE SCHOOLS TOGETHER
Enhancing Achievement for our Children and Young People
Teachers’ Resource: Maths and Islamic Art and Design
Visits to the V&A are FREE but some
exhibitions and events carry a separate
You may wish to use this resource, and plan a trip to the V&A. The Science Museum (listed
charge.
above) is very close by.
This resource provides a variety of information and activities that teachers may like to use with
their students to explore the Islamic Middle East collections at the V&A. It can be used to
support learning in Maths and Art. Included in this resource are sections on:

Principles of Islamic art and design

Pre-visit activities

Activities to do in the museum

Activities to do back at school
Link to resources:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/teachers-resource-maths-and-islamic-art-anddesign/ (ctrl + click)
Does your school take pupils on inspirational Maths or English Trips? If you know of any great venues, please pass information to alex@spelthorne-schools.org