York Castle Museum

Schools

Welcome to the York Art Gallery's schools pages.

Click here to download our 2011/12 programme for primary schools

Exhibitions at York Art Gallery display a broad range of art and ceramics, making it an ideal venue for your children and students to compare and contrast work by different artists.

The Gallery hosts a programme of temporary exhibitions with more than six different shows every year, often featuring major works from national collections. Check our exhibition pages for the latest information.

Making a Visit

Admission is free to the gallery, but we request that all groups pre-book - for more information on booking, click here.

Workshop Programme

A range of bookable education workshops support Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 & 2 pupils. Click here for more information and information for secondary schools.

Self-led visits and Downloadable Resources

Alternatively, groups are welcome to explore the galleries at their leisure, making use of our interactives. Discover more about narrative paintings in our Stories section or investigate and handle a selection of ceramics. Sketchbooks and dry art materials can be used on the galleries and some seating is available.
We also offer downloadable resources to use during your self-guided visit. Click here for more.

York St Mary's

Our contemporary art venue, York St Mary's, is home to a specially-commissioned art installation each summer and school bookings are welcome. Click here to visit the York St Mary's website.

Opportunities for Teachers

Staff development

Why not use our museum as a venue for your staff development days? This is an ideal way to combine an away day from school with practical and interactive sessions to explore learning in museums, or to brush up on your own knowledge and skills. Our Assistant Curators of Learning are happy to assist with planning your day.

In addition we can offer practical activities in our learning rooms, tours and talks by staff, behind-the-scenes access, cross-curricula approaches to learning outside the classroom, including culture, history, science, art, archaeology and citizenship, tea and coffee on arrival and assistance with lunch arrangements.

Badge of Quality

Our dedicated team of educationalists were among the first in the country to be awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge.

The Quality Badge is a new scheme designed to combine both recognition of learning and safety issues.

The scheme is part of the Government's £4.5m Out and About package which encourages teachers to take their classes out of the classroom.

What our Visitors Think

"York Art Gallery contains important works of art in a newly refurbished gallery that is a great space for learning. Children learn to engage with art at a deeper level than simply gazing at paintings.

"The staff are enthusiastic and the sessions they lead are well thought through. Pupils will leave the Gallery enlightened, enthused and motivated about art." Sandford Award judge, 2011.

York Art Gallery, York Castle Museum and the Yorkshire Museum & Gardens have all been awarded the Sandford Award for Heritage Education.