Educational visits

Welcome to Llandaff Cathedral’s Education programme. Our aim is to enable schools to use the rich resources of the Cathedral as a learning experience, and to encourage children to feel at home in their cathedral. Here children and young people can experience awe and wonder, reflect on their values, develop their sense of belonging and of their identity and their place in history.

The tours are led by our team of guides and we offer a range of topics as detailed below. If you are looking for something different, however, do get in touch and discuss it with us. We will do our best to help.

Learning Experience A offers a range of topics to select from, relating to History and Religious Education.

Learning Experience B is focussed on Spirituality and introduces pilgrimage in an experiential way.

Learning Experience C (details to follow) will relate to the Arts curriculum and will combine learning about aspects of the arts in the Cathedral with hands-on creativity.

It is best to make your enquiry well before the date when you hope to visit so that we can book you into the diary.

Click here to complete a booking form

Specialised educational visits

Select from one of our unique learning experiences for your school below to find out more. Choose 3 or 4 of the following topics. Each topic takes 25 minutes. 15 minutes is also needed for an introductory and a concluding session for prayer and reflection. All topics are adapted to the appropriate Key Stage and age of the students.

At the beginning and end of the tour. The introduction and concluding sessions take a total of 15 minutes

Learning experience A
Learning experience B

Below are the topics covered and their learning objectives/curriculum links:

Topic 1 – Discovering the artefacts found in a Cathedral, learning their names and how they are used in worship.

Religious Education: Investigate religious artefacts and imagery. Understand religious symbolic language, increase vocabulary and use it appropriately

Topic 2 – Discovering special food, drink and clothes in worship

Religious Education: Explore religious beliefs, teachings and practices. Be aware of the traditions and celebrations that are important aspects of the Christian culture in Wales.

PSE: Develop learners’ personal code of morality and to reflect on their personal beliefs and moral values

Topic 3 – What is a Saint? Who was Saint Teilo?

Religious education: Opportunity to explore how religion has influenced and guided peoples’ lives in the past and investigate issues raised through religious stories.

History: (KS2) Identify a significant person and understand why people did things in the past.

Historical enquiry: (KS3) How important was the Age of Welsh Saints as a factor in shaping the Church in Wales
Religious Education: Developing number by ordering events in time.

History: (KS2) Use timelines to sequence events. How the Age of Saints and the development of Cathedrals have shaped Wales.

Topic 4 – The growth of the Cathedral Church at Llandaff AD 560- present day

(KS3) Chronology: An opportunity to investigate and help understand past events, people and places.

Understand causation and change over time and establish a sense of chronology.

Understand the impact political/religious/social changes have had on the history of the Cathedral.

My Pilgrim Journey

This is a children’s experiential visit to the Cathedral when they will learn about pilgrimage to a holy place, and will be encouraged to see their lives as a pilgrimage, a journey of faith.

On the visit children will wear a simple item of pilgrim clothing, collect stickers in a ‘pilgrim passport’ at each stopping point, and reflect on their own lives as a journey. The last section gives them an opportunity for creative artwork on this theme.

The visit takes 2 hours and works best with a maximum group size of 30 children.

On request, a space for lunch before or after the visit can be provided.

The experience is aimed at Key Stage 2 children.

Religious Education: The experience promotes the spiritual, moral and cultural development of pupils by asking fundamental questions raised by human experience and about the meaning and purpose of life.

Pupils are encouraged to question the values and aspirations of their own lives and have an opportunity to experience the spiritual aspect of worship in a Cathedral and to develop their own knowledge and understanding of Christianity and a sense of God.

PSE: Develop learners’ personal code of morality and to reflect on their personal beliefs and moral values.