School Tours

Learning is fun at Fota, where there are countless opportunities for active learning across the great house, arboretum, and gardens!

At Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens, learners of all ages can engage in active discovery in a stunning setting. Fota’s stories, collections, architecture, and biodiversity all help to bring topics from history, art, and science to business and literacy to life.

Our thought-provoking creative exercises and hands-on activities spark curiosity and deepen understanding of Irish heritage, culture, and the natural world. The rich experiences on offer at Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens support curriculum-linked multidisciplinary learning, and we will be delighted to design programmes and learning activities to create an exciting day out that will be fun as well as educational for your group.

Tours for Primary-Level Children

We love welcoming school tours to Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens! For small children, we weave lessons about the past into quests for our housekeeper’s cat, visits to the nursery, and outdoor trails that encourage curiosity as well as active learning.

Will your group explore Irish history on a guided Fota House tour, get busy on our Bee Trail, or learn about trees and biodiversity on a nature walk?

Second-Level Tours & Activities

Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens offers brilliant opportunities to tease out aspects of second-level curricula.

Explore Ireland’s social history and get a taste of times past in the servants’ wing.
Learn about food production and sustainability in our Victorian Walled Garden.
Or encounter fine art and learn about the work involved in its conservation when your group visits our outstanding 19th-century art collection.

Learning in Action at Fota House

Students from Dunmanway’s Mary Immaculata College created short movies to communicate key selling points for Fota House. Along the way, they learnt technical and business skills and got an experience of what life was like for servants ‘below stairs’.

Talk to us About the Topics You’d Like to Cover

If there are specific curriculum ideas or multidisciplinary approaches you’d like to explore, just let us know. We are always delighted to design programmes and learning activities to suit groups of all ages and abilities.

Planning Your Visit

We can help plan the details of your visit, from your timetable and activities to your catering arrangements. You can pre-book a snack or lunch for your group in the Bakestone Café, where there’s plenty of room for more learning activities, as well as relaxation.

To discuss your visit please contact discuss education tours and packages at Fota House, Arboretum & Gardens, please contact Catherine Murphy on 021 242 0131 or email c.murphy@irishheritagetrust.ie.

Our Online Learning Zone

Fota’s online Learning Zone offers a range of engaging WebQuests which promote learning related to history, art history, English and business for Leaving Cert students and Transition Year groups. It is totally free to use.

The WebQuests, have been designed in an exciting partnership between the Irish Heritage Trust and Trinity College’s Web21, and they support pair or group work that immerses students in really innovative ways!