Making a booking
What is the maximum group size Bletchley Park can accept per visit?
The maximum capacity for the onsite facilitated Learning Programme is 180 students per school per day. Workshops and guided tours can accommodate up to 30 students, and, therefore, large groups will be divided into smaller parties whilst they are here at Bletchley Park.
How many adults do groups need to bring?
Groups with students under the age of 18, must have a minimum staff: student ratio of 1:10. Staff from these groups can attend free of charge, up to a ratio of 1:5.
There is no required staff: student ratio for groups with students over 18. The group leader can attend free of charge.
Any additional staff will be charged at the rate for over 18s.
When can we arrive and depart the site?
Visits choosing Option A (including a learning session and tour) last 4 hours and 10 minutes, and arrival times are at set intervals between 10.00–10.50.
Visits choosing Option B (including a learning session) last around 3 hours, and arrivals times are at set intervals between 11.10-11.50.
Visits choosing Option C have more flexibility in the length and timings of the visit.
All groups will be allocated an arrival time and a departure time when a provisional booking is made. We ask that groups make every effort to adhere to timings as there is limited coach drop-off space and unscheduled changes may delay your entry to the Park.
What is the difference between the standard and D-Day tours?
Both tours are 50 minutes long and mostly or wholly take place outside. Tours run in all weathers so please ensure that all members of your group have appropriate clothing.
The standard tour visits external locations around the site exploring the wartime history of Bletchley Park. Groups will find out why British codebreaking happened at Bletchley Park, about how messages were intercepted and delivered here, why secrecy was so important, and what life was like for the Codebreakers.
The D-Day tour consists of a viewing of the immersive D-Day cinema experience (approx. 20 minutes) followed by a shorter 30-minute standard tour. As the D-Day cinema is recommended for children aged 12 plus, we do not offer this tour to primary schools. This tour is most appropriate for groups that have a particular interest in D-Day or groups that know they would like to visit the D-Day cinema and by combining it as part of the tour can visit other areas of the Park whilst on their self-guided time
The D-Day cinema experience can also be visited during a group’s self-guided time and so the D-Day tour does not need to be booked to visit the cinema.
Do we have to request a time slot to visit the shop?
Learning groups can be allocated a slot to visit the shop. For groups choosing Option A, this will be scheduled on your itinerary, and other groups will be allocated when slots are available. Groups that would prefer not to visit the shop can indicate so on their booking form.
We are looking to visit The National Museum of Computing (TNMoC) on the same day. Can we book that through you?
TNMoC is a separate organisation next to Bletchley Park and therefore must be booked with them directly. If you decide to visit TNMoC please let us know on your booking form so we can adjust timings accordingly.
Preparing for the visit
Can we visit the site before our trip, to help us prepare?
Yes! We strongly encourage group leaders to carry out a pre-visit. Once a provisional booking has been made, up to three staff members from the school may visit free of charge.
To arrange a pre-visit please email [email protected], including the name of your group, the preferred date of your pre-visit, the time you expect to arrive and the names of the staff members attending the pre-visit.
What should students wear?
As a busy heritage site with between 4 – 9 schools on site every day, we recommend that students wear either school uniform or school specific PE kit. This makes it easier for groups to stay together in crowded areas, and to be identified by both their accompanying adults and Bletchley Park staff.
All members of the group should bring outdoor clothing suitable for the weather as parts of the day, such as entering the site on arrival and guided tours, will take place outside.
We recommend wearing comfortable shoes as we are a large site, and your visit will require walking between different buildings on what can sometimes be uneven ground. Please note shoes with heels smaller than a postage stamp cannot be worn inside our historic buildings.
What do we need to bring?
- Packed lunches. These must be distributed in advance of your arrival and carried by group members as we are not able to offer storage.
- Any resources you may like to use in your self-guided time. We provide activity booklets for Keys Stages 1 – 5 that can be downloaded and printed, located on our Essential Information page. Please bring clipboards or similar items to avoid leaning on display cases and objects.
- Itinerary (Option A and B visits only). Please ensure that all adults have a copy of your group’s itinerary which outlines the timings and locations of your activities. On arrival, your group will also receive maps to help navigate the site.
Can my group store their bags somewhere?
Unfortunately, we are not able to provide storage areas for bags, lunch crates or other items.
What happens when we arrive?
On arrival, please remain on your coach. A member of the Learning team will meet you on your coach to welcome you and give directions for entering the site.
When possible, coach parking is provided at Stadium MK. Drivers should return to Bletchley Park no earlier than 5 minutes before the allocated departure time. Parking is available on-site for school minibuses and cars only. Groups arriving by train should report to the Porters’ Lodge by the entrance.
Facilitated visits will need to alight from their coach(es) in their activity groups as set out in their itinerary. Please ensure that your students are aware of their group in advance of arrival. Groups travelling in multiple coaches should try to seat students in the same group on the same coach where possible as this will make the coach drop off easier.
Can workshop and tour times be adjusted if we arrive late?
For groups taking part in learning sessions, if you arrive later than expected we will endeavour to accommodate your group but please be aware that your itinerary may be affected, and we cannot guarantee the rescheduling of your sessions or tours.
Can our students explore the park by themselves?
The park is open to the public and the grounds are spread across a wide area with multiple buildings and a lake. For safeguarding reasons, it is important that students under 18 are always supervised and accompanied by a responsible adult.
What areas of Bletchley Park should we visit during our self-guided time?
Bletchley Park has many exhibitions and historic buildings set up as the Codebreakers would have used them, as well as outdoor spaces filled with our soundscape of wartime noises and conversations. You might even hear a Spitfire flying overhead!
For groups who choose Option A, we recommend spending the most time inside the buildings to explore the exhibitions and recreated codebreaking spaces, as your guided tour will explore the outside areas. For groups that have booked a D-Day tour, the immersive D-day cinema experience in the Teleprinter Building is included in your tour and therefore should not be visited in your self-guided time.
For information about our exhibitions and to view our interactive map click here.
How is Bletchley Park working to make learning visits sustainable?
Bletchley Park is working to reduce or negate its impact on the environment through its operations. As an organisation, we understand the need to reduce our carbon footprint, but this makes up just part of our aspirations to preserve the environment and play an active role in slowing climate change.
A sample of Bletchley Park’s green initiatives include:
- Creating reusable learning session resources to reduce paper waste
- Recycling bins within offices and visitor areas
- Using compostable disposable cups within our public cafes
- Purchasing fully renewable energy from our electricity supplier