Lessons from the Past

About the program

Integrating outcomes from History, PDHPE and Creative Arts, this program gives students the opportunity to learn firsthand about what school life was like in the late 19th century.

Students dress in period costume – straw hats, plus cotton pinafores for the girls and sailor collars or coats for the boys – and then meet their schoolmistress or master to begin the school day. After saluting the British flag, the class is marched into the 1880s schoolroom, where they will sing the national anthem God Save the Queen and prepare to start the first lesson.

Throughout this immersive and engaging program, students take part in a re-creation of late-19th-century classroom activities, led by highly trained staff, who are also in costume and in character as 1880s school teachers. Hands-on activities include practising writing on slates, completing a science lesson, a sewing lesson and a drawing lesson as well as an outdoor physical education drill and (weather permitting) maypole dancing in the yard, enabling students to make vivid comparisons between schooling, then and now.

Prepare your group for a visit with an 'Excursion Introduction' listed under Resources. These introductions are suitable for teachers of children with ASD in integrated classrooms.

356 Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155. Phone +61 2 9627 6777

Rouse Hill Estate

356 Annangrove Road, Rouse Hill NSW 2155. Phone +61 2 9627 6777
  • Wheelchair accessible
Cost (GST free)
$28.20 per student for minimum 20 students

See page for cost scale details

Duration
Full day (10am to 2pm)
Session offered
Monday to Friday

Maximum students
60 per session
Supervision ratios

The supervision ratio is 1:10 for primary groups and 1:15 for secondary groups. Teachers and parents attend free of charge at these ratios. One carer per student with special needs will be admitted free of charge

Additional visitor costs

Each additional visitor will be charged at the concession rate of $12

Browse all
A student feeds the chickens as part of the Early to Rise program at Rouse Hill Estate
Onsite

Early to Rise

This Stage 1 History program gives students the opportunity to explore the working areas of the former farm, and investigate what life would have been like for children living there 120 years ago