What are the toilets like?
Toilets at the cathedral are public facilities. There are 12 cubicles in the female toilets and the equivalent in the male toilets. We have two wheelchair accessible toilets.
We are not able to supervise your pupils in the toilet block. Please make sure that you have considered your school’s supervision policy and be sensitive to the comfort and safety of our visitors in these shared facilities.
Do we have to pay to come to Durham Cathedral?
There are unavoidable costs of administration and upkeep to our facilities so that we can welcome groups. We ensure all groups receive accurate information in planning the visit, comply with our safeguarding commitments, and get the best possible experience on their visit. Your support helps keep Durham Cathedral accessible to young people from all around the world. Funding also helps our Learning & Engagement team offer free activities for young people and families, and provides outreach projects for schools. For these reasons, there is a charge for all groups coming to Durham Cathedral. Charges for school and youth groups are detailed on this page.
All organised groups must be booked in advance of their visit. Payment can be arranged by invoice after your visit, or at the visitor desk when you arrive - you can let us know your preference when you enquire about a visit. We generally don't charge in advance and this allows us the flexibility to charge only for people who attend on the day.
We rely heavily on donations from visitors. With this financial support along with charges to groups, we can continue to care for our buildings and communities for the future.
What should we wear?
Generally, school uniform is fine. Some of our sessions are outdoor (e.g. Cuthbert’s Challenges, Riverbanks tour) and so weather-appropriate clothing is essential.
Accompanying adults will also need to be reminded to wear weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear. Open-toed shoes and high-heeled shoes are discouraged due to the uneven surfaces at the cathedral.
Is there anywhere we can put our bags?
For guided groups, we provide space in our Learning Centre for bags where possible. This building is closed to the public, but accessible by our staff. We are unable to take responsibility for damage or loss of belongings stored in the Learning Centre.
For self-guided visits, we try to provide space where we have capacity, but we can’t guarantee this. Plan to keep belongings with you, but do ask on the day.
Will there be other schools at the Cathedral?
There is a good chance that there will be other schools at Durham Cathedral on the day(s) of your visit. There are only so many days in the calendar where we can accommodate school visits so quite frequently, we have multiple schools visiting at a time. As such, it’s essential to regularly count or register your group and remind your group of the importance of staying together.
Do you have a risk assessment?
Learning activities at the Cathedral are risk-assessed and we have a continuous programme of review to ensure our site and its precincts are as safe as they can be.
Visiting parties should conduct their own risk assessment prior to their visit in line with Department for Education guidelines.
The Outdoor Education Advisers’ Panel for school trips has many useful guidance resources here.
Visiting parties should conduct their own risk assessment prior to their visit in line with Department for Education guidelines.
What's the booking process?
Enquiry
Send an enquiry form via our website. Include any learning objectives or additional needs.
Date agreed
Our team will let you know if the date you've requested is available or offer alternatives. You can accept the provisional date and learning offer by return email
Safeguarding pledge
You will need to return a completed safeguarding pledge for your visit via email. This is an agreement that your organisation complies with the principles of our safeguarding policy
Confirmation
Our team will issue a confirmation form and offer further planning help.
After this step, we look forward to welcoming you to the cathedral, at the agreed date and time.