Chiswick House & Gardens is internationally recognised as a place of historic significance in architectural and garden history, and a place of inspiration for people of all ages. We welcome school groups all year round to engage in unique outdoor learning opportunities.
We offer self-led resources for school group visits to our Kitchen Garden, a historic working garden that nurtures pollinator-friendly planting and wildlife habitats.
Self-led visits: Are you a school interested in bringing a group?
Booking is essential for school groups to access the Kitchen Garden.
Lesson plans are available for teachers to use as they explore our Kitchen Garden. Topics include art, history, science and geography and follow National Curriculum Key Stage 1 & 2 guidelines. These resources aim to inspire a generation of local young people to connect with nature, support their wellbeing and gain a deeper understanding of how plants become food. Teachers may adapt resources to suit their needs. Lesson plans have been carefully co-created in partnership with local school groups and community experts, and we encourage feedback on how we can improve our programme at any time.
Booking and Resources
Our Kitchen Garden is open Mon-Fri from 9am-4pm for school visits (with seasonal public access Thursdays and Fridays). Our wider gardens are open daily until sunset to explore at your own pace. To view lesson plans and book your session with us, please contact schools@chgt.org.uk
Please note that lessons do not focus on the House and aim to engage students through outdoor learning in our Kitchen Garden. If you would like to book a visit inside the House, please let us know.
Why donate?
As a charity, a donation of £1 per child is appreciated to help keep the Kitchen Garden open to all visitors. With your support, you will have full access to the Kitchen Garden during public closure days, and to our high-quality, purpose-built resources.
The Kitchen Garden is a working garden, we donate half of our produce to local food banks and soup kitchens. These donations ensure we can continue to give back to our communities.
You can make a donation via our website here, or request an invoice. We aim to make our schools programme as accessible and welcoming as possible, and understand the budget limitations that are facing state-funded schools. Our priority is to connect children with the outdoors, so please let us know if this is a barrier.
Facilitated visits: Coming soon
We are currently piloting facilitated sessions focusing on food education in our Kitchen Garden. Students will learn about food from ‘seed to spoon’, engaging in the process of harvesting produce from the garden, preparing it, and cooking it to eat!
If you would like to learn more and book a facilitated session, please contact us at schools@chgt.org.uk
The National Lottery Heritage Fund and our schools programme
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. Our schools programme development project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to enrich our schools programme to better serve our communities.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.
