Dorchester Abbey Education is happy to welcome groups of schoolchildren and adults to the Abbey to share the religious, spiritual, historical and architectural heritage that it offers and plan an individual programme or tour for each group. We also are a venue for a wide variety of art and cultural events from our own Dorchester Festival and the acclaimed John Piper and the Church exhibition to the annual English Music Festival.

We largely focus on educational visits and each educational visit to Dorchester Abbey will be tailored to the specific requirements of the teachers and to the age and ability of the pupils. Many aspects of Key Stage 1 and 2 can be covered singly or in combination as the Abbey offers considerable scope for cross-curricular studies, adding extra dimensions to the topics studied. Popular topics for study include: Baptism, Awe and Wonder, Pilgrimage, Colour, What is (in) a church?, Prayer, Architecture, Dissolution of the monasteries, Dorchester as a site of spiritual and religious significance for over 4000 years, Using historical evidence, Village Study, Dorchester as the cradle of Christianity in Saxon Wessex, Treasures of the Abbey - to name but a few. Subjects covered can be Maths, English and Drama, History, Geography, Science, RE, and Art and Design.

For Key Stage 3 and 4 the Abbey offers many opportunities to explore, experience and discuss themes from the History, RE and Citizenship programmes, and the locality provides Geographical investigation and the link between location and settlement. The award-winning Cloister Gallery tells the story of the Abbey and its former monastic buildings through a collection of medieval stonework, offering both an artistic display and an academic study.