Education Programme

Tailor-Made Sessions for Schools - KS1, KS2 & KS3

Strutt's North Mill - your local educational experience!

At Strutt's North Mill we want to ensure your class gets the most from your visit. That's why we offer "tailor-made" days and half days to suit the needs of your group. Or, if you prefer, we can visit you. Many of our activities can be brought into your school.

As well as the abundance of history, we also have activities supporting geography, science, PSCHE and Citizenship.

Many activities can be adapted to provide different opportunities for speaking and listening or to provide a stimulus for writing.

Contact the manager at the Derwent Valley Visitor Centre on 01773 880474

Cost per child: £5.00 full day £2.50 half day

The Watercourse
(History Geography)

  • On a guided tour around the outside of the Mill learn about the importance of the River Derwent to the location and working of the mill.
  • Power: then and now

    • Fire at T'Mill
    (Literacy Drama Science History)

  • Find out about the causes of the fire at Strutt's Mill.
  • Explore the impact of materials on the fire and in the new design
  • Take on the role of mill workers

    • Trouble At T'Mill
    (History Citizenship Speaking and Listening)

  • Reconstruct through drama the lives of real children who lived at the mill
  • Find out about life as a mill worker
  • Explore the rules and responsibilities that came with working at Belper Mill
  • Dress up to develop empathy with workers of the past
  • Make decisions about consequences and punishments

    • Mill Crafts
    (Art Design History PSHCE)

  • Recycling the old fashioned way
  • Economy and making do
  • Design a Chevening pattern for your own bookmark
  • Make a pom-pom

    • The River Derwent
    (Geography History)

  • The course of the river from source to sea
  • Man's exploitation of the river
  • Water at the mill
  • Urban growth around the river

    • Video
    (History Geography)

  • Introducing the mill, the town and the workers

    • Picture Package
    (History PSCHE Speaking & Listening)

  • Use pictures and photographs to find out about the lives of mill workers and slaves

    • Using Different Sources
    (History)

  • Use artefacts, pictures, photographs, maps, plans, census and anecdotal evidence to construct Belper's past

    • Artefact Boxes
    (History Speaking and Listening)

  • Handle and discuss different artefacts in school
  • Toys
  • Victorians
  • Workers at the mill
  • Museum volunteers support each group

    • Local Study
    (History Geography)

  • What was Belper like before the mills
  • The influence of the Strutt family
  • The mills
  • The growth of the town
  • Other industry in and around Belper

    • Mill Tour
    (History Geography)

  • A tour around the interior of the mill with an expert guide
  • Hands-on activities
  • History of the mill and industry in the local area
  • The history of the building itself and its special features

    • Visit the museum shop
    (History Citizenship)

  • Compare the prices of toys then and now
  • Learn about old money and wages
  • Buy a souvenir

    • Materials
    (Science History Geography)

  • Find out about the materials that were used to build the Mill
  • Compare the properties of fabrics in the Mill (e.g. cotton, silk, wool, nylon, sacking) and find out what they were used for
  • Learn about the different processes that were applied to different fabrics and why they were treated in different ways
  • Find out where different raw materials came from, and where the finished products ended up