School Visits

Our workshops can be adapted to both Key Stages 1& 2 according to your needs - subjects and timings are flexible and can be tailored to complement your curriculum requirements. We ask for a donation of £2 per child (accompanying adults are free of charge) and all visits must be booked in advance. For further information please contact the church office, or click here to download a copy of our education programme leaflet.

Signs and Symbols
The activities in this workshop provide a structure for a visit to All Hallows which helps children to appreciate the contribution made to the building and its interior by artists and craftspeople. It also provides an opportunity to consider important aspects of the Christian faith and helps children to understand the church as a place of worship. Children learn about the meanings of the signs and symbols in the church by looking in particular at specific features of All Hallows, as well as key features such as the tower, chapels, pulpit, font, pews, aisles and altar. Practical work includes a choice of stained glass window decorating or brass rubbing from replica medieval brasses. This workshop fits in with QCA units 1f (“what can we learn from visiting a church?”) and 3a (“what do signs and symbols mean in religion?”).

Faith Under Fire
One of the many churches bombed during the London Blitz of 1940, this church has been rebuilt with some of its original features still in place (some such as the Saxon arch having only been uncovered by the bombing itself). Children can use the photographs available to compare past and present times, as well as gain an insight into what life in wartime Britain was like through a wartime posters workshop which encourages them to use and improve their historical interpretation skills. With a talk from members of staff, children will also be supported in completing an activity pack on the artefacts within the church that will help develop their ability to place important people and events in chronological order.

The History of All Hallows
Children will be introduced to the use of the church and the key features of All Hallows as a local history case study. They will look at various materials and study resources such as pictures of All Hallows pre and post bombing, and examine both its role and importance since Saxon times. Images, written sources, quotations from parish books, census, maps and parish population will be discussed, as well as All Hallows' role in the community and its various responsibilities during the Saxon, Medieval, and Victorian periods up until the present day. This workshop includes a practical activity based on the medieval brasses, mosaic making, or stained glass window decorating.

The Great Fire of London
All Hallows by the Tower is located in close proximity to where the Great Fire of London took place. It is one of the few churches in the area that did not burn down, due to the efforts of notable individuals such as Samuel Pepys who watched the fire from the church tower. To work alongside your history topic of the Great Fire of London, a trip to All Hallows will put your children in the place where it happened with a supportive workshop on Pepys’ diary. Building on the guidelines of History for key stages 1 and 2, this workshop aims to teach children the importance of personal accounts such as Pepys’ diary in reconstructing past events, as well as helping to build a knowledge and understanding of key figures and the changes the fire brought about. With a talk from members of staff, children will be supported in completing an activity pack as well as a practical based activity in quill writing.