School Excursions
Children study history at school but what is the most fun way to learn? A school excursion of course!
Heritage education is important as it helps the students connect to the past and immerse themselves in the culture of yesteryear.
School groups will take a journey back to the past when the Royal Bull’s Head Inn at Drayton was the centre of the town.
Through this school program with links to the History curriculum, school groups will take a journey back to the past when Royal Bull's Head Inn at Drayton was conetre of the town. With its links to the History curriculum, our education program aims to immerse students in life as it was in the 1800's. Students will explore, recognise and appreciate the history of their local area by examining the remains of the past and considering why they should be preserved.
Key Periods
- 1847-1875 when the Royal Bull’s Head Inn operated as an hotel and tavern
- 1879-1973 when the Inn was used as a family home and Post Office (to 1952)
- 1973 to the present. The property is owned by the National Trust and operated as a museum.
Key Themes
- The sites function as a community hub throughout its history (i.e., inn, post office, museum)
- Changes in technology over the period of the various buildings' history (e.g., cooking, washing, transport)
- The role of museums and heritage places in our society – the contribution of individuals and groups to the development of Australian society (e.g. pioneers, explorers, pastoralists)
- Development of colonial society and the Australian colonies (e.g. the expansion of the Darling Downs and the development of Drayton and Toowoomba).
The National Trust has prepared an Australian Curriculum Work Program, in the History subject area, that relates to Royal Bull’s Head Inn. This education program provides opportunities for students to develop historical understanding.
Our Programs
Standard Tour - $6 Per Child
For classes up to 30 students
Ideal durations - 2.5 to 3 hours
With this program the students are put into 4 groups to rotate through the activities.
9am - Introduction
9:30am - Upstairs with Morse Code Activity (rotation 1)
10am - Outside with Clothes Washing Activity (rotation 2)
10:30am - Morning Tea (student supplied)
11am - Downstairs with a Song (rotation 3)
11:30am - Old Kitchen with a Mincer Activity (rotation 4)
12pm - Depart Royal Bull's Head Inn
Hands On Activities Tour - $9 Per Child
For classes over 30 students
Ideal durations - 3 to 3.5 hours
Alternatively, this number of children could be split into two groups, with one group visiting St Matthew's Church while the group at the Inn would follow program One. Then swap over.
9am - Introduction
9:30am - Tour of upstairs (rotation 1)
9:50am - Old fashioned games (rotation 2)
10:10am - Tour of outside (rotation 3)
10:30am - Butter making (rotation 4)
10:50am - Morning Tea (student supplied)
11:10am - Tour of downstairs (rotation 5)
11:30am - Washing activities (rotation 6)
11:50am - Tour of old kitchen (rotation 7)
12:10pm - Morse Code activity (rotation 8)
12:30pm - Depart Royal Bull's Head Inn
Role Play Tour - $15 Per Child
For any class size
Ideal durations - 4 hours
In this program, children take on the role of a worker or a visitor at the Inn and, following task cards, carry out the duty of that character.
For example, a chambermaid will get the water from the well, heat it on a woodstove, take it to the rooms in porcelain jugs for travelers to user, help the traveler dress in a nightgown and then take away the "slops".
Other characters include - gardeners, cooks, serving maids, washerwomen. The students then enjoy the meal "the cooks prepared" for their lunch.
9am - Introduction
11am - Morning Tea (student supplied)
1pm - Depart Royal Bull's Head Inn
Additional Adult Pricing
- Adults accompanying students at the ratio of 1 adult per 5 children are free of charge
- Extra adults are $5 per person
The Australian Curriculum for History
Through the context of the Royal Bull's Head Inn, Drayton and some of the personalities connected with it, students will explore, recognise and appreciate the history of their local area by examining the remains of the past and considering why they should be preserved.
The content provides opportunities for students to develop historical understanding through key concepts appropriate to their age and ability, including: continuity and change; cause and effect; perspectives; empathy and significance. These concepts will be investigated within the historical context of the Royal Bull’s Head Inn, Drayton to facilitate an understanding of the past and to provide a focus for historical enquiries.The content is presented within the two interrelated strands of Historical Knowledge and Understanding and Historical Skills, and within the framework of the following key inquiry questions:
Download our Year 2: The Past in the Present document below to see information on the relevant general capabilities (GC), cross-curriculum properties (CCP) and links to other learning areas (OLA).