School History Trips at Corris Mine Explorers

How our School Trips fit with the National Curriculum in England

Corris Mine Explorers provides an exciting setting for school trips North Wales and fits well with the programmes of study for Geography, History, Citizenship, Design and Technology, Social, Health and Economic Education and, to a lesser extent, Science.

School Trips North Wales – Geography

If you’re looking for outdoor activities North Wales as a part of your Geography School Trip then an exploration of the once thriving Welsh slate mine coupled with the reasons for its demise and final closure would provide a perfect case study for changing economic activity. The impact of the closure of the Welsh slate mine on the village of Corris and its Railway could be incorporated here too. Today, the Corris Mine Explorers visit provides a good example of tertiary economic activity – It is now a thriving tourism attraction. In addition, the Corris Craft Centre, which is the starting point for the Corris Mine Explorers visit, is home to 9 independent craft workshops and is the starting point for two further visitor attractions King Arthur’s Labyrinth and The Welsh Legends Maze. School trips are also available for these attractions. The Corris Craft Centre, and its attractions, are built on reclaimed land formerly used for slate mining.

School Trips North Wales – History

A school history trip to Corris Mine Explorers provides a stimulating setting for pupil engagement and to study Industrialisation in Britain. The opening of the Braich Goch slate mine in 1836 resulted in a population boom in the village of Corris. This generated demand for local housing and resulted in the building of the Corris Railway linking to the mainline in Machynlleth to enable the transportation of Welsh slate all over the world.

The nearby village of Corris houses the Corris Railway Museum, providing further information about the extension of the railway to Corris and another stimulating setting within which to study industrialisation in Britain. The village of Corris itself is a sea of slate roofs, taken from the old Braich Goch slate mine.

During the Corris Mine Exploration consideration is given to the introduction of legislation to improve working conditions and the changes which took place in the mine at this time. Curriculum links can be drawn here particularly with Citizenship.

School Trips North Wales – Citizenship

Corris Mine Explorers provides an exciting environment for a school trip to study social history from the mid 19th century through to the 1970s. It also provides a preserved historical setting where not only the operational side of the mine is looked at but also the working life of the miners and life in the local village. The changes in working conditions and society in general from the opening of the slate mine in 1836 to the day it finally closed in the early 1970s are very apparent.

School Trips North Wales – RE

An Humanities School Trip to include History, Geography and RE could also include a short walk to the village of Corris which once had 11 chapels and 1 church. Of these, just Salem Chapel and the Holy Trinity Church now open for worship. Grave stones of former Braich Goch miners can be found in the village graveyards, providing a further angle of study.

School Trips North Wales – Design and Technology

School trips to Corris Mine Explorers provide a preserved example of the introduction of industrial technology. An inspection of the cavern (correctly known as a chamber) walls dug out in the early parts of the mine clearly show the use of basic hand held tools. Whereas the excavation markings on chamber walls dug out at a later date are much different, showing the use of industrialised machinery. Examples of the tools and machinery used by the miners are seen during the visit. Pupils will learn how the introduction of technology enabled the slate mine to develop and grow and to have a direct impact on the growth of the village of Corris and its population.