Educational visits for schools and colleges are an important part of the work of the cathedral. We welcome students of all ages and invite them to experience the very special atmosphere of our cathedral building where prayer is still offered today, as it has been over the centuries.

There are a range of tours available for pupils from KS1 up to Sixth Form. All planned tours are available, or please ask if you would like something different.

We have been awarded the LOtC Quality Badge! The only national award that recognises both learning and safety for learning outside the classroom providers and is endorsed by the Department of Education

2024/2025 School Visits

You can download our 2024/25 Guides to Primary and Secondary School Visits below. This guide includes information about tours, workshops and FAQs about visiting Hereford Cathedral. If you would like more information please contact William Talbot-Ponsonby via [email protected]

Primary Schools Visits Booklet 2024/2025

Secondary Schools Visits Booklet 2024/2025

Post 16 Visits

We offer workshops and tours for post-16 students on a bespoke basis. Popular visits include lectures and visits to the Mappa Mundi, and visits to the Chained Library. Students can look at the original books, not usually available to members of the public, by prior arrangement! Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Donkey Nativity

We will hold our annual KS2 Donkey Nativity on Tuesday 10 December at 11 am. There is no charge for this event and places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you would like to book to come to this popular service, please contact William Talbot-Ponsonby at [email protected]. This service is very popular, so please book early to avoid disappointment!

Experience Christmas and Experience Easter

Experience Christmas: Monday 2 to Wednesday 4 December 2024

Experience Easter: Monday 31 March, Tuesday 1 and Thursday 3 April 2025

We run Experience Christmas and an Experience Easter workshops each year. 

These interactive workshops are designed for KS2 pupils, where children will learn about the story of Christmas and Easter through a series of group activities. For Christmas, these include looking at gifts presented to Mary and Joseph, their journey to Bethlehem and the experience of the shepherds in the fields, while for Easter these include cheering Jesus on as he arrived in Jerusalem with palm crosses, re-enacting Jesus washing his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper and praying for those in pain.

Places are available to book, to do so please email: [email protected].

Not able to come in person?

Members of the Education team are happy to bring any of our standard workshops to take place in your school. We have a facsimile of the Mappa Mundi which we can bring and use to offer a Mappa Mundi workshop. In addition, we are linking with the Music Department to offer organ workshops to take place in your local Church.

In addition, we can offer many of our workshops virtually, including a virtual Mappa Mundi workshop. Please email [email protected] for more details.

Cost of travel prohibitive?

We are very fortunate to have received some funding from local charities to support the transport cost of school groups visiting the cathedral. If this is helpful, please email [email protected] for more details.

Self-guided tours

If you would like to lead your own visit, then we have a teacher’s pack to help with this. To request a copy of this please email [email protected].

Self-guided tours need to be booked in advance, in the usual manner.

For more information on any of these activities, please contact William Talbot-Ponsonby, Head of Schools and Family Learning, on 01432 374256 or [email protected].