Keats House school sessions
School workshops from Keats House
School workshops are available on Wednesdays and Thursdays, in the morning (10.30am-12.30pm) or afternoon (1.30pm-3.30pm). The charge is £2.35 per student, with a minimum charge of £52.50.* Accompanying staff members do not pay a fee. Please contact Keats House if you would like to arrange a session.
Our risk assessment is available to inform your own risk assessment when visiting Keats House.
Special Needs
We aim to make the house and events as accessible as possible to all visitors. If anyone in your group has any special need or disability which might affect the visit, including educational needs, please let us know in advance so we can put any necessary arrangements in place.
Key Stages 1-2
Ask the Doctor
A look at what medicine was like 200 years ago when Keats trained as a doctor, including a virtual tour of Keats House and a drama workshop.
Children will learn information and vocabulary relating to medicine both in the past and today, and develop creativity and teamwork.
Write a Poem: ‘The Naughty Boy,’ or ‘Cats and Other Creatures’
An introduction to one of Keats’s best-loved poems, leading to creative writing and drawing activities. Choose from: 'A Song About Myself' and 'To Mrs Reynolds’s Cat.'
Children will gain understanding of a Keats poem, and will develop their creativity and confidence in using language independently.
Everything in the Garden
An exploration of the plants and living creatures in the Keats House garden, and the part they played in the life of Keats and his friends.
Children will learn facts about plants and arthropods in the garden through hands-on activity, and practice drawing and measuring skills.
Key Stages 3-5
Writing Workshop
Inspired by objects from the house or writings by Keats and other poets, write and share your own poetry.
Students will gain detailed understanding of a poem, develop their creativity and start to gain confidence in sharing their own work.
The Poems of John Keats
Accessible introductions to some of Keats’s most celebrated poems, including 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci,' 'Lamia,' the Odes and the sonnets.
Students will gain a detailed understanding of the poem studied, aided by information on Keats’s life.
In-depth workshops are also available for GCSE and A level literature students on Keats's Odes and sonnets: 'Lamia,' 'The Eve of St Agnes' and 'Hyperion.'
Dual Site sessions for Key Stages 2-3
Getting Ahead in the Nineteenth Century – with London Metropolitan Archives
Two hundred years ago it could be harder than it is today for a young person to leave home and make his or her way in the world. At London Metropolitan Archives, look at images, objects and records which graphically show what life could be like for a young person in the early 1800s. visit to Keats House to learn how the young John Keats survived early tragedy and a gruelling apprenticeship as a surgeon to achieve his life’s ambition.
The sessions include writing and craft activities and a filmed encounter with ‘John Keats’, recounting his story in his own words.
Students will gain an insight into life for a young person in the nineteenth century, and develop their creativity through two pieces of writing.
To book any of these sessions, or if you have any enquiries, please contact Keats House.
Young City Poets
A tour and workshop at Keats House looking at objects that had a particular relevance to John Keats’s life, as inspiration for students to write an ode of their own, with a follow-up visit by a published poet to develop the students’ writing.
This session is offered in conjunction with the National Literacy Trust’s Young City Poets project, which combines an initial writing session at a cultural venue in the City with support from a practising poet. To find out more about the Young City Poets project, contact Francesca Bonafede.
School Visits Fund
The Culture Mile School Visits Fund may be able to support your school visit to Keats House. This fund provides grants of up to £300 towards the costs of facilitated sessions, admission, transport and/or teacher cover for eligible schools.
*Booked sessions cancelled with less than 7 days' notice will incur the minimum charge of £52.50 by invoice to the school.