York Minster

Centre for School Visits

Workshops are only available with the 2 hour visit: Option 1

As the teaching and activities set out in the Centre are specific to each topic, we do need to know in advance which topic you would like. As a general rule we ask that you choose only one topic from the following offered.

York Minster a Special Place

Key Stage 1

This R.E. visit emphasises the special nature of the Minster as a place of worship; its use, the furniture, the different services, vestments and the stained glass. Pictures, models, computer presentation, dressing-up and jigsaws are used as illustrations. The tour includes a quiet time of reflection using candles and a closing prayer in the Crypt.

Colour and Light

Key Stages 1 & 2

This topic explains the process of making stained glass windows. It includes the use of different materials, transparency, light sources, light and dark, as well as references to the Minster as a place of worship. Pictures, computer programmes and stories are used in the presentation. To complement this topic we now have a specially designed, upright light box. We can build up a complete 'stained glass window' in vivid and illuminated detail, illustrating the process of how the panels were designed, painted and leaded. For the older pupils the function of tracery and the use of metal supports in the window frame will be included. The tour includes a time of quiet candle-lit reflection in the Crypt.

Christmas Celebrations

Key Stage 1

As the season of Christmas approaches schools may like to concentrate on Christmas celebrations. This visit covers the use of the Minster as a place of worship, its services, furniture & stained glass; but also includes Advent and the telling of the Christmas story using crib figures. During the four weeks of Advent, the Advent wreath hangs inside the Central Tower, with its lighted candles. This topic finishes with a quiet time of candle-lit reflection in the Crypt and a closing Christmas prayer.

York Minster Across the Centuries

Key Stage 2 and 3

From the beginnings of York to the present time, there have been buildings on the Minster site. Find out what they were and how they have changed over the centuries. Discover more about the Minster today; its function, the furniture, the people who work in it, the medieval stained glass and much more.

The Minster as a Place of Worship

Key Stage 2 and 3

This visit concentrates on the Minster as an example of a place of Christian worship. During their time in the Centre, some of the students will be dressed in vestments used in the cathedral today. More emphasis will be placed on the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion with older pupils. This visit can include a short time of reflection using candles in the Crypt.

How was it Done - Building a Medieval Cathedral

Key Stage 2 and 3

This visit combines elements of Science, Design and Technology to illustrate the choice of materials and their use within the building, the structure of the building, its design in response to its use as a place of worship. This visit will use our reconstructed Masons' Lodge teaching resource to explain how parts of the Minster were set out and built. We will also explain why and how the restoration of the East Front is taking place.

Romans, Anglo Saxons & Vikings in Britain

Key Stage 2

The first building on the present site of the Minster was the principia of the Roman Fort. The first Minster was built in Saxon times. Models and artefacts illustrate these aspects of the Minster's history and relate them to the period being studied in school.

The Church in Tudor Times

Key Stage 2

Where better to study the break with Rome than at the Minster? Our computer presentation illustrates the changes in church furnishing according to the beliefs of the reigning monarch, and shows how Catholic or Protestant each Tudor ruler is considered to be.

Britain 1066 to 1500

Key Stage 3

Few places can surpass the Minster for a visit to illustrate the role of the church in the Middle Ages. We will look at the development of the building itself, and see how it fitted into the context of an important Medieval city. Using the evidence provided by its architecture, stained glass and recorded history, we will consider the cathedral as a place of power, pilgrimage and praise.

Britain 1500 to 1750 The Reformation

Key Stage 3

Religious changes at the time of the Reformation. Illustrated with the computer presentation described in KS 2 The Church in Tudor Times, the changes in belief and practice can be spelled out in more detail and then further illustrated by the monuments in the Minster itself.

York Minster a Place of worship or Tourist Attraction?

GCSE / A Level / BA

This visit will consider the Minster as both place of worship and tourist attraction and examine some of the issues and tensions that this dual use can raise. We will also look at visitor numbers, profiles and trends, sources of income, expenditure and funding and implications of legislation such as the DDA.

History of Art and Architecture

Aimed at older pupils and students, this visit considers the building primarily in the context of European Medieval art. As well as examining the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic styles and the subsequent development of the latter, we will also consider the iconography of the age, whether in stained glass, carving or manuscript illumination.