Colchester Zoo

(November 2024 - Primary School)

The Venue lends itself to groups due to its easy access and recommended meeting points received in provisional booking. Pupils learned about sustainable habitats. (November 2024 - Secondary School)

(November 2024 - Secondary School)

(November 2024 - Primary School)

(October 2024 - Secondary School)

(October 2024 - Primary School)

(October 2024)

(October 2024 - Secondary School)

Excellent cross-curricular opportunities. (October 2024 - Primary School)

(September 2024 - Primary School)

(September 2024 - Secondary School)

(July 2024 - Secondary School)

(July 2024 - Primary School & Secondary School)

(July 2024 - Secondary School)

(July 2024 - Primary School)

(July 2024 - Secondary School)

(July 2024 - Primary School)

(June 2024 - Secondary School)

Amazing trip, thoroughly enjoyed by all. Very accommodating staff. (June 2024 - Secondary School)

(June 2024 - Primary School)

(June 2024 - Secondary School)

(June 2024 - Primary School)

(May 2024 - Primary School)

(May 2024 - Primary School & Secondary School)

(May 2024 - Secondary School)

(May 2024 - Primary School)

Understanding the world (May 2024 - Primary School)

(May 2024 - Primary School)

(April 2024 - Primary School)

(April 2024 - Secondary School)

(March 2024 - Primary School & Secondary School)

This trip would be best suited for Post 16 Business students. (March 2024 - Secondary School)

(March 2024 - Primary School)

(March 2024 - Secondary School)

(March 2024 - Primary School)

An educational and informative trip. The children learnt a lot and enjoyed seeing all the different animals. (March 2024 - Primary School)

(March 2024)

(March 2024 - Primary School)

(January 2024)

(January 2024 - Primary School)

(December 2023 - Primary School)

(November 2023)

Great classroom session (November 2023 - Primary School)

(November 2023 - Secondary School)

(November 2023 - Primary School & Secondary School)

(November 2023 - Secondary School)

(November 2023 - Primary School & Secondary School)

(October 2023 - Secondary School)

(October 2023 - Primary School)

Excellent links to Primary Science Curriculum (October 2023 - Primary School)

(October 2023 - Secondary School)

(October 2023 - Primary School)

(October 2023 - Secondary School)

Olivia who ran our session was brilliant - great subject knowledge, good with the kids and engaging. The Rainforest Layers session was brilliant and included kinaesthetic and visual stimuli - the children were engaged throughout. (October 2023 - Primary School)

(September 2023 - Primary School & Secondary School)

(September 2023)

(September 2023 - Primary School)

(July 2023 - Secondary School)

(July 2023 - Primary School)

Excellent subject knowledge and use of artefacts in our own school hall for a reasonable cost. (July 2023 - Primary School)

(June 2023 - Primary School)

A lovely science day at the zoo. A great event for children to learn about science at the zoo alongside science from other schools in the area. (June 2023 - Primary School)

(June 2023 - Primary School)

(June 2023 - Secondary School)

(June 2023 - Primary School)

Very good fun and educational. There was chances for interaction with some of the animals too. (June 2023 - Secondary School)

Art workshop was god, but many activities also completed in school (June 2023 - Primary School)

PSHE (May 2023 - Secondary School)

(May 2023)

(May 2023 - Primary School)

(May 2023)

(May 2023 - Primary School)

(May 2023 - Secondary School)

Lack of organised lunch storage made the process of dropping off and collecting these items too long. This resulted in us leaving the venue later than expected and being late back to school. The venue have no processes in order to support schools - no crates for storage/separation from other visiting schools. For younger children, it is too large a venue to take everything in effectively - we rushed around in order to make the most of our time, bearing in mind how far we all had to walk in order to see as much as possible to make the trip worthwhile. I do not think this is the best venue for younger children. (April 2023 - Primary School)

(April 2023 - Primary School)

(March 2023 - Secondary School)

Great knowledge from zoo staff member during habitats talk. (March 2023 - Primary School)

Fantantastic knowledge of zoo staff member leading our habitat talk. (March 2023 - Primary School)

(March 2023 - Primary School)

We were running late due to bad traffic on the day, and risked missing some of our workshop. We phoned ahead to notify the zoo. There was nobody on hand to meet us or help us get through the barriers and to the education centre, so we wasted more valuable time. It would be helpful to have education officers greet schools and guide them to where they need to be. (March 2023 - Primary School)

(March 2023 - Primary School)

(March 2023 - Secondary School)

(March 2023 - Primary School)

(February 2023 - Primary School)

(February 2023 - Secondary School)

(February 2023)

(January 2023 - Secondary School)

(December 2022 - Primary School)

Festive Penguin Experience - A fabulous day out - loved every minute of it as did the children. (December 2022 - Primary School)

(December 2022 - Secondary School)

Business Studies - AQA Applied General Unit 2 (December 2022 - Secondary School)

(December 2022 - Secondary School)

(November 2022 - Secondary School)

(November 2022 - Primary School)

(November 2022 - Secondary School)

A well organised visit and positive experience which matches to our need. Good venue and provider. (October 2022 - Primary School)

(October 2022)

(October 2022 - Primary School)

(October 2022)

Art session was very well received by our students (October 2022 - Secondary School)

Super day out! (September 2022)

The workshop provided by the zoo linked to our science unit very well and allowed children to share their learning as well as ask questions to deepen their understanding. (September 2022 - Primary School)

(August 2022 - Primary School)

(July 2022 - Primary School)

(July 2022 - Secondary School)

Brilliant trip with some excellent links to learning in school. (July 2022 - Primary School)

(July 2022 - Primary School)

Lovely day - very smooth school trip. Plenty to see. (July 2022 - Secondary School)

(July 2022 - Primary School)

(June 2022 - Primary School)

Psychology (June 2022 - Secondary School)

(June 2022 - Primary School)

(June 2022)

It was a great trip however we were disappointed that you now have to pay to feed the elephants and giraffes (June 2022 - Primary School)

(June 2022 - Primary School)

The education department at Colchester Zoo offer many different sessions linked to the national curriculum which are extremely useful in identifying where the trip would fit into your curriculum and the learning outcomes offered. (June 2022 - Primary School)

The educational talk on the rainforest was excellent and the children enjoyed it and learnt lots too. (May 2022)

(May 2022 - Primary School)

(May 2022 - Secondary School)

(May 2022 - Primary School)

(April 2022 - Primary School)

We visited as part of our sustainability topic. (April 2022 - Secondary School)

(April 2022 - Primary School)

(April 2022)

(April 2022 - Primary School)

(March 2022 - Secondary School)

(March 2022 - Primary School)

A great experience for the pupils although we found that the workshop - Zoos: good or bad? could have been a little more interactive. (March 2022 - Primary School)

Enjoyable visit with a good variety of animals to see. The children enjoyed their experience and it gave them the opportunity to discuss the habitats of the animals. (March 2022 - Primary School)

The children had a great day at the zoo, they all benefited from seeing the animals they had been learning about in the classroom in real life. The zoo has some steep paths and so a route needs to be planned carefully, especially if you have children with mobility requirements. (March 2022 - Primary School)

A fun, educational day enjoyed by all. (March 2022 - Primary School)

A very enjoyable trip for both children and staff, with a large range of enclosures to explore. Zoo staff were very helpful and due to the layout of the zoo, the children were able to cover the whole zoo in the time that we were there. Colchester Zoo also felt very safe and secure. (March 2022 - Primary School)

Excellent. Well organised. Excellent education and facilities. (February 2022)

Very helpful staff throughout the planning stage and a fantastic activity led by the zoo. (February 2022 - Primary School)

Brilliant trip. Well organised, Covid safe! Helpful and knowledgeable staff. Children absolutely loved their visit. (January 2022 - Primary School)

The educational talk was excellent and at the age appropriate level. Feedback from staff, pupils and parent helpers was extremely positive. (December 2021 - Primary School)

(November 2021 - Secondary School)

Students loved the trip to the zoo and found the adaptation talk really engaging and interesting. (November 2021 - Secondary School)

The Zoo provided excellent risk assessments for 'General Zoo', 'Session Talks' and 'Covid Risks' which prepared the school well. The Rainforest Threats talk was well delivered with practical and engagin activities. Well linked to Year 6 geography objectives regarding the Amazon Rainforest and Science objectives on habitats. (October 2021 - Primary School)

Well organised venue for school groups, the day went really smoothly and staff were all friendly and helpful. (October 2021 - Primary School)

(September 2021 - Secondary School)

Very well organised, would go again (September 2021 - Secondary School)

an excellent experience - something for everyone to be engaged with (July 2021 - Primary School)

(July 2021 - Primary School)

Very enjoyable. Welcoming staff and venue upon arrival. (July 2021 - Primary School)

(July 2021 - Primary School)

Excellent venue, great loos for little ones! Experience talk worthwhile (June 2021 - Primary School)

Animal needs talk was informative and engaging. (March 2020 - Primary School)

(March 2020 - Primary School)

We had a fantastic day at Colchester zoo. We completed a jungle storytelling workshop and were still able to see most of the animals. (March 2020 - Primary School)

(March 2020 - Secondary School)

Colchester Zoo was an excellent trip. The children thoroughly enjoyed their time there, despite very adverse weather conditions. All the staff were really lovely and helpful too. (March 2020 - Primary School)

(March 2020 - Primary School)

Great visit as always (March 2020 - Primary School)

great trip as always (February 2020 - Primary School)

(February 2020 - Primary School)

We had a great day, the education session solidified the children's knowledge and they really enjoyed seeing all the different animals and feeding the elephants and giraffes. They were able to speculate as to how the animals are adapted for their environments, so this trip was a great way to round up our science learning on classification and hook into our learning into evolution. (February 2020 - Primary School)

(February 2020)

(February 2020 - Primary School)

(February 2020)

Lovely day and beautiful site. Easy to get around as areas are well sigh posted. Only reason for not giving five stars is some enclosures were empty and the children were disappointed however this didn't ruin the day and would definitely recommend especially the African area and the sea lion under water tunnel.. (February 2020 - Primary School)

A fantastic educational day which supported our Rainforest topic (February 2020 - Primary School)

(January 2020 - Primary School)

(December 2019 - Primary School)

It was a great day out. The journey there and back went smooth with us not spending too much of the day on the coach. The workshops provided children with opportunities to handle bones, skulls and animal skin and linked in well with our learning in class identifying animal types and diets. (December 2019 - Primary School)

(November 2019 - Primary School)

(November 2019 - Secondary School)

(November 2019 - Primary School)

A good trip - zoo could be better sign posted (November 2019 - Primary School)

Excellent class visit. All children were well behaved and enjoyed their visit to Colchester Zoo (October 2019 - Primary School)

(October 2019 - Primary School)

Colchester Zoo was a very good day out for our year 5 group studying rainforest animals and habitats. The layout of the zoo, broadly grouping animals of the same climate together made having a specific focus to the visit easy and meant we didn't have to travel the length and width of the zoo. There is ample picnic area space for lunch and the school admission price is incredibly competitive. I would certainly take a school group again. (October 2019 - Primary School)

(October 2019 - Secondary School)

(October 2019 - Primary School)

(October 2019 - Secondary School)

(September 2019 - Primary School)

friendly, welcoming and educational site (September 2019 - Secondary School)

Great and fits in with the curriculum so well (September 2019 - Primary School)

All staff on site were very helpful, there was a bit of confusion regarding checking in and payment etc due to a change of systems but they were very accommodating and made sure the children didn't miss their talk. Gift shop had a good range of lower price items and they were accommodating of 24 children visiting and organising themselves in the shop. The talk was very informative and linked well into our intended purpose; the speaker coped well with some tricky group. (August 2019 - Primary School)

Our visit was much less enjoyable compared with previous visits. It took over an hour from parking our coach to gaining access to the Zoo due to lack of organisation of zoo staff and no longer having a designated schools entrance. Workshop was good and age appropriate. I probably won't be returning next year. (August 2019 - Primary School)

(August 2019 - Secondary School)

The staff were very helpful, everything was easy to find and the activities were engaging. (July 2019 - Secondary School)

Students enjoyed the trip and were supportive of one another in groups. (July 2019 - Secondary School)

(July 2019 - Primary School)

A very successful day. (July 2019 - Secondary School)

Easy to organise and identify focus of the day with KS1 children. Appropriate for our topics of Geography and Science - Animals including humans. (July 2019 - Primary School)

The zoo provided an educational session that met our learning objectives and was engaging and enjoyable for all our pupils. (July 2019 - Secondary School)

A good opportunity for the children to learn about animals from different parts of the world with some interaction with them. (July 2019 - Primary School)

Excellent process of booking and communication was first class. (June 2019 - Primary School)

(June 2019 - Primary School)

Great day out for our boarders of all ages. (June 2019 - Primary School & Secondary School)

(June 2019 - Primary School)

A thoroughly enjoyable day with an informative and fun talk. (June 2019 - Primary School)

It was an amazing day. I would have given it 5 stars but the payment process at the ticket office was a bit of a pain resulting in us missing most of our workshop time. (June 2019 - Primary School)

Good educational talks around endangered species. (June 2019 - Secondary School)

While a good visit for older children, due to the set up of the enclosures it can be difficult for smaller people or those in wheel chairs to see the animals. This is because some of the enclosures have high fencing, bushes or other obstructions blocking the views. (June 2019 - Primary School)

(May 2019 - Primary School)

(May 2019)

Very informative workshop. (May 2019 - Primary School)

(May 2019 - Secondary School)

really relevant to learning about animals, feeding experiences make it memorable for the children (May 2019 - Primary School)

(April 2019 - Primary School)

The students really enjoyed their day at the Zoo and seemed to take a lot from the experience of seeing the animals as well as completing the work booklet that was provided for them. Students were given a talk at the end of the day about classification which was highly informative and close to the AQA GCSE Specification however owing to the lecture like style that this information was delivered in, students were not particularly engaged. (April 2019 - Secondary School)

There were many things to see and do. Our students were explore at their leisure in a secure environment. The talks were very informative but sometimes there was a large emphasis on donations. A good mix of facilities and provision of facilities for wet weather. (April 2019 - Secondary School)

A well organised business, who kept in regular contact. Safe and secure environment for a school trip with their own risk assessment and first aid points too. Really good activity for our Animal Kingdom topic- enthused the children and provided information for their rainforest books and poster completed after the trip;. (April 2019 - Primary School)

An fun and educational visit. The classroom experience was exciting and age appropriate. The children were able to be actively engaged in the activities. There is a lack of under-cover spaces for large groups to eat lunch should the weather be cold/wet. (April 2019 - Primary School)

The children really enjoyed it and the facilities were brilliant. (April 2019 - Primary School)

(March 2019 - Primary School)

A fun day, very educational. (March 2019 - Primary School)

(March 2019 - Secondary School)

Children enjoyed looking at the animals. (March 2019 - Primary School)

We had a very unstructured day at the zoo and it was great! (February 2019 - Primary School)

The students enjoyed their time at the zoo especially feeding the elephants and playing in the parks. (February 2019 - Primary School)

(February 2019 - Secondary School)

Great once we got passed the reception and found our way to the information point.It would have been nice for someone to have met us at reception to take us through to the information room. Lunch was very rushed - half an hour to eat and clear up was rather quick for younger children. (February 2019 - Primary School)

Great trip, children loved the experience. (January 2019 - Primary School)

(January 2019 - Secondary School)

An excellent day out that all the children will remember for a long long time. (January 2019 - Primary School)

Its very big and it's a lot to do in a day. (December 2018 - Primary School)

(November 2018 - Primary School)

Really good day building relationships with year 7 and between the new Y7 students (October 2018 - Secondary School)

Very disappointed that my class had to have their session in a tent in 32 degree heat without an adequate cooling system felt there were not enough staff at the zoo to meet the enquiry demands of so many school trips on that day (October 2018 - Primary School)

(October 2018 - Primary School)

(September 2018 - Primary School)

(September 2018 - Secondary School)

(September 2018 - Primary School)

(September 2018 - Secondary School)

Excellent trip- very useful to the learning theories aspect of course (July 2018 - Secondary School)

(July 2018 - Secondary School)

Very enjoyable trip gor staff and children. The educational session was at the right level for the children and linked to our animal topic more than our minibeast topic. (July 2018 - Primary School)

(July 2018 - Secondary School)

(July 2018 - Primary School)

Would like more interaction on the habitats talk. There was only some at the end of the talk, the children enjoyed this but would have liked longer. (July 2018 - Primary School)

(July 2018 - Primary School)

(July 2018 - Secondary School)

(July 2018 - Primary School)

The communication and organisation of the Zoo was brilliant. The workshop which was included with the price was informative and age appropriate. It was interactive and consolidated children's learning of animals. (June 2018 - Primary School)

Students gained an insight into the use of animal phycology and enjoyed the animal training. (June 2018 - Secondary School)

(June 2018 - Primary School)

(June 2018 - Secondary School)

(June 2018 - Primary School)

A lovely day out. (June 2018 - Primary School)

A fabulous day out with so many hands on experiences to enhance the children's learning. (June 2018)

(June 2018 - Secondary School)

An excellent resource on our doorstep. The zoo is a really good educational day out. The information on display about the animals is outstanding and the facilities are super. (June 2018 - Primary School)

(May 2018 - Secondary School)

(May 2018 - Primary School)

Very good, educational visit. Thoroughly enjoyed by the children and adults! (May 2018 - Primary School)

(May 2018 - Primary School)

Excellent pre-visit information and resources on website. Visit straightforward, educational session provided by zoo education team well thought out and presented. Covered many issues and encompassed a number of subject areas. (May 2018 - Secondary School)

(April 2018 - Primary School)

(April 2018)

(April 2018 - Primary School)

(April 2018)

(March 2018 - Primary School)

Brilliant talk on adaption. Better than I had hoped. Children enjoyed it thoroughly and learned a lot. The only downside was small delay in storing and collecting packed lunches from storage. (February 2018 - Primary School)

(February 2018 - Primary School)

The staff were helpful and the children enjoyed their endangered species talk. (February 2018 - Primary School)

Despite the weather this was a very successful trip. The staff were excellent and ensured the children were safe and warm in the wintery conditions. (January 2018 - Primary School)

(January 2018 - Primary School)

Colchester Zoo

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Description

Contact

Reviews