Education & Learning

The English Riviera is the perfect place for school groups to visit, especially with so many educational opportunities provided by the English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark. There's also a wealth of activities that can be enjoyed, from water sports to walking and all in a stunning seaside setting. A great place to start is by contacting the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust. This independent conservation charity manages over 1800 across the Bay, and hosts hundreds of school visits and group visits every year.

Their staff are trained and experienced in running a wide range of activities which can be tailored to your requirements and linked to your curriculum or interests. They also offer safe access to a variety of specialist, high quality habitats such as streams, ponds, woodland, farmland, coast and rocky shore and we provide all the equipment and materials that your students will need for their visit.

The charity also manages Warren Barn, a converted linhay and threshing barn in Cockington Country Park, that sleeps 46. The barn has a wood burner with large communal area for group meals, two large dormitories and two smaller bedrooms, three bathrooms and a large outside courtyard area with a campfire and pizza oven. It's a fantastic place for school groups to stay, especially as its surrounded by 450 acres of country park and within walking distance to the beach.

Grenville House Outdoor Education Centre in Brixham offers both residential and non-residential activities and is housed in stunning building on the edge of Brixham harbour. Accommodating all types of client groups (although the majority of groups of year five and six primary schools) the centre can sleep up to 60 children/young people, with additional space for up to 21 staff/leaders.

With an understandable water sports focus, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, raft building, powerboating, dinghy and yacht sailing are all available directly from the centre. Other popular activities include coasteering, a high-ropes course, rock climbing, caving, moorland walking and orienteering. Various teambuilding activities are also available in the centre itself, as well as a climbing wall and bouldering wall. 

Barton Hall Activity Centre in Torquay is run by PGL and offers school trips with a difference. Their ethos is to use the outdoors to deliver unforgettable learning experiences for both primary and secondary school groups and activities include abseiling, quad biking, orienteering, canoeing, buggy building and archery. The site also features a heated outdoor swimming pool, a lake for water sports and even a dry ski slope. They can cater for everything your school group may be looking for, from multi-activities courses to revision weekends and sports activities to personal development and year group bonding.

The English Riviera UNESCO Global Geopark is a perfect educational focus for any school visit and there are various resources for teachers on the website. The teaching materials include The Geohazards (Key Stage 3) and Places and Journeys (Key Stages 1 and 2). The website is also packed with other ideas for exploring the stunning natural heritage of the English Riviera, from coasteering to "catch and cook" workshops.