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Ongoing updates and improvements

Educational visits

We offer a unique range of sessions designed to engage pupils with the zoo and conservation, including groups with SEN learners. You can download our 2024 Walkthrough Guide here.

Education Admission Prices

We offer reduced admission pricing for educational visits which are pre-booked with us

EYFS to KS4£10.95 each
16+ learners£12.40 each
Under 3sFree of charge

For accompanying teachers and staff, we have free adult to child ratios:

EYFS1:2
KS11:6
KS2 – KS41:10
Post-161:15
Learners with EHCPs1:1

Any accompanying adults not covered by the free adult ratio will be charged £13.75 each for admission.

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Marabou stork at Paignton Zoo

Booking forms

If you’d like to book a visit for your school or educational group, please complete the relevant booking form:

Please note: pre-booking is essential for all educational visits

Risk assessment

To view our risk assessment guidelines, please click here.

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A visit to our zoo offers a fantastic day of experiences that will bring your curriculum topic to life: your pupils can observe, hear, and sense living examples of the plants, animals, and habitats that you will be talking about back at school.


What’s included?

We will meet you at our coach turning circle as you arrive, and give a short welcome with zoo gossip, instructions, and a challenge for your pupils. This is delivered outdoors and ensures your pupils get the best from their day!

You can also complement your classroom learning with one of our free mini-sessions at an enclosure. Alternatively, for an additional charge, you can book one of our classroom sessions.

Mini-sessions

A 20-minute ‘mini-session’ complements classroom learning back at school, directly linking to your chosen topic, using our live animals and natural exhibits to illustrate key points. The informal nature of these sessions encourages pupil observation and participation. Mini-sessions are suitable for all key stages and we can cover a wide range of topics. Mini-sessions are complimentary and are included in the cost of your visit.

Mini Session topics
EYFS
Understanding the world
KS1
Classification, Habitats, Food chains
KS2
Classification, Food chains Inc. predator prey, Life cycles, Adaptation

Classroom Workshops

Our workshops are designed to offer interactive learning opportunities that cannot be replicated in the standard classroom. These take place in our specialist themed classrooms located in the Education Centre, utilising a variety of activities and artefacts. Workshops are suitable for up to 32 learners, at a cost of £33 per workshop. Please note that workshops are not available May – July.

KS1 Sessions

African Safari (40 minutes)
Take a trip around the amazing continent of Africa to discover some of the habitats
and unique creatures that live there and can be found at the zoo. Pupils will investigate
artefacts connected with African species in this fun treasure hunt.

Remarkable Rainforests (40 minutes)
Take a closer look at tropical forests around the world and the incredible animals and
plants that are found there. Find out why rainforests are so important, why they are
threatened and how we can help protect them.

KS2 Sessions

Skeletons and Movement (40 minutes)
Explore our fantastic skeleton collection, comparing animals with and without skeletons.
This active workshops encourages pupils to identify and compare several types of
animal skeletons, exploring possible ways of movement and special adaptations.

Conservation Conundrum (40 minutes)
In this escape-room-style challenge, pupils will learn about palm oil, threats to wildlife,
and how we can help. Can teams work together to solve the puzzles and save
the wildlife?

Amazing Adaptations (40 minutes)

Why do tigers have stripes? How does a frog jump so high? Discover the variety of ways animals have adapted to live in different habitats by exploring our collection of fascinating artefacts.


To make a booking, please complete our school visit booking form by clicking the link below.

All the information you require for a visit, including risk assessment guidelines, will be emailed to you after booking.

Full T&Cs can be found here:

Schools T&Cs

BOOK NOW

School visits

Our animal and plant collections are fantastic living examples that can enable your pupils to develop a better understanding of structure, function, behaviour and the many other topics and concepts that are part of the curriculum. Alternatively, the zoo offers a great location for activities week and reward trips, with a bit of stealth learning thrown in.


What’s included?

We will meet you at our coach turning circle as you arrive, and give a short welcome with zoo gossip, instructions, and a challenge for your pupils. This is delivered outdoors and ensures your pupils get the best from their day!

You can also complement your classroom learning with one of our free mini-sessions at an enclosure. Alternatively, for an additional charge, you can book one of our classroom sessions.

Mini-sessions

A 20-minute ‘mini-session’ complements classroom learning back at school, directly linking to your chosen topic, using our live animals and natural exhibits to illustrate key points. The informal nature of these sessions encourages pupil observation and participation. Mini-sessions are suitable for all key stages and we can cover a wide range of topics. Mini-sessions are complimentary and are included in the cost of your visit.

Classroom Workshops

Our workshops are designed to offer interactive learning opportunities that cannot be replicated in the standard classroom. These take place in our specialist themed classrooms located in the Education Centre, utilising a variety of activities and artefacts. Workshops are suitable for up to 32 learners. Additional charges apply.

KS3 Sessions

Amazing Adaptations (40 minutes, max 32 pupils, £33 per session)

Why do tigers have stripes? How does a frog jump so high? Discover the variety of ways animals have adapted to live in different habitats by exploring our collection of fascinating artefacts.

KS3 and KS4 Sessions

Sustainability: Sussed? (45 minutes, max 60 pupils, £66 per session)

This fun, interactive session encourages pupils to consider how the choices they
make can affect the natural world. What are solutions to the environmental crisis we
find ourselves in today? We will look at the main consumer choices every day from
fashion to food, and how we might manage the Earth’s valuable resources in the
future. At the end of the session participants will have the opportunity to try some
edible invertebrates!*
*Parental consent needed for under 18s

KS4 Walk and Talks
(All 45 minutes, max 30 people, £33 per tour)

Conservation Walk & Talk
Visiting three or four of our most relevant enclosures, we will look at the conservation
work of the Wild Planet Trust at our zoos and overseas. These tours offer a better
chance for students to discuss and ask questions, and the use of live exhibits makes
them more engaging.

Tourism and Visitor Attractions

15 minutes lecture followed by 30 minutes tour.
Starting with the facts and figures, growth and structure of the business, this session
then moves on to discuss marketing, audiences, and upcoming developments at the
zoo. The tour will visit an area we are looking to develop in the near future, and works
best with student discussion.


To make a booking, please complete our school visit booking form by clicking the link below.

All the information you require for a visit, including risk assessment guidelines, will be emailed to you after booking.

Full T&Cs can be found here:

Schools T&Cs

BOOK NOW

Post-16 learning

A levels

Moving into further education allows students to begin tailoring their interests and knowledge. A visit to our zoo can help by giving students the opportunity to view classroom theory in real life, in a fun, interactive learning environment.

We have an extensive list of topics we offer as 45–60 minute lectures. These are tailored to meet the different subjects and specifications, and are available for up to 60 students per session.

We can also offer a conservation walk and talk, encouraging interaction from the students and covering the role of Paignton Zoo as a conservation organisation. This is for smaller groups of up to 30 students.


Higher education

We are lucky to have a highly knowledgeable team of industry professionals working at the zoo, ready to pass on their expertise to your students.

We can offer a range of higher education workshops, delivered face-to-face or over Microsoft Teams or Zoom, combining taught lectures, practical application and behind the scenes insights.

Delivered by industry experts with extensive experience, these sessions provide a thought-provoking, challenging and immersive way to engage students at a deeper level with the ‘real life’ behind their subject matter.


Masters degree courses

Our team are part of the teaching staff for two masters courses. For more information, please visit the respective university websites:

University of Plymouth:

MSc Zoo Conservation Biology

University of Exeter:

MSc Animal Behaviour

 

To make a booking, please complete our post-16 educational visit booking form by clicking the link below.

All the information you require will be emailed to you after booking.

Can’t see what you are looking for? Our team may be able to develop something bespoke for your group. We are happy to work with tutors to align content to assessment or curriculum needs – just let us know what you need and we’ll see what we can do!

BOOK NOW

Multi-day visits

We offer multi-day residential programmes to truly immerse your students in all aspects of conservation and the inner workings of a zoo. Field trips can be one of the most memorable experiences for students, and are ideal for providing learning opportunities that just cannot be replicated in a classroom.

The opportunity to put theory into practice and to better understand the practical application of new-found knowledge is invaluable and will serve to bring subjects to life in a realistic and aspirational setting.

Please email us using the link below to discuss what we can offer your students.

EMAIL NOW

Click here to find out more about our Discovery Days

Our zoo offers discoveries around every corner and makes a great alternative location for learning. Whether you are getting ideas for projects or bringing a topic to life, the zoo can complement home learning brilliantly.

Home educators are able to take advantage of our reduced education rates for entry. Details of these can be found in our price list:

Price list

These prices are available with the following conditions:

  • Children must be aged 5–18
  • Term time entry during usual school hours (Mon-Fri, 10am to 3pm)
  • All visits must be pre-booked

To make a booking, please complete our school visit booking form by clicking the link below.

All the information you require for a visit will be emailed to you after booking.

Full T&Cs can be found here:

Home educator T&Cs

BOOK NOW

Whether you are looking to complete a badge or just want a fun day out for your pack, a zoo visit is sure to be a highlight of the year!

If it fits with your visit, one of our Rangers can meet you for a mini-session at an enclosure to tell you more about some of our amazing animals. They will also bring along an interesting artefact or two from our amazing education collection (wet weather options are available).

Uniformed groups are able to take advantage of our education rates for entry. This can be as a self-led visit, or with input from our education team.

To make a booking enquiry, please fill in our Uniform Group visit booking form using the link below.

 

 

BOOK NOW

Primley & Clennon

Our parent charity, the Wild Planet Trust, owns and cares for two nature reserves close to the zoo – Primley Park and Clennon Gorge.

While Clennon Gorge is closed to the public to ensure that the species found on its limestone grassland and wooded slopes can thrive without disturbance, a small area of the 60 acre reserve can be enjoyed by walking the nature trail within Paignton Zoo, near Lemur Wood.

Primley is accessible by all and features beautiful woodland, with a mix of native species, and a wildflower meadow.


Forestry school

There is a small Forestry School site, which can be used for free by groups but must be booked in advance. Please note that anyone operating forest school activities in Primley must hold an accredited forest schools qualification.

To book a Forest School visit, please contact our Reserves Warden using the email link below.

EMAIL NOW

Click the link below to see all frequently asked questions for educational visits.

FAQs