Learning

At Coultershaw, learning is at the heart of what we do. Set in a beautiful riverside location, our site lends itself to engagment with nature, engineering, industrial history and technology. We can cater for all ages ranging from Early Years through to Secondary groups and beyond.

Our flexible Learning Space is located in a well-equipped former canal warehouse. Here you can store bags, there are two unisex loos, a kitchen area, tables and chairs. These will all be available to you for the duration of your visit.

For Schools

School Workshops – Explore Coultershaw! Our hands-on, fun and engaging school workshops aim to introduce pupils to all the interesting areas that Coultershaw has to offer. These sessions can be adapted for Early Years, Key Stage 1&2. All pupils will be able to….

  • Watch the historic waterwheel drive the Beam Pump to produce an amazing fountain.
  • Learn how the Beam Pump was installed to pump river water all the way to Petworth
  • See the Archimedes screw turbine which uses water to generate green electricity.
  • Visit the Engine House and have a go with the water pumps.
  • Make and design a boat that floats and launch it down our watershute!

Early Years and Key Stage 1 In addition to the above, we include a nature and wildlife element for this age group where pupils will become tree detectives and try their hand at leaf bashing.

Key Stage 2 In addition to the above, this interactive STEM based workshop will have a focus on engineering and technology. Pupils will experiment with some mini Archimedes screws and build and test a waterwheel.

To find out more or make a booking please use our School Enquiry form below.

These school workshops have been made possible with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Explorer Boxes

We have 4 brand new Explorer Boxes available for local schools to borrow. They contain a variety of interesting objects which you can explore together with your class. Each box focuses on a different theme that is both relevant to Coultershaw and links in with the curriculum.

You can to borrow an Explorer Box on the following topics…..

  1. Nature and Habitat (Early Years & Key Stage 1)
  2. The River Rother (Key Stage 1 & 2)
  3. Records of the Past (Key Stage 1 & 2)
  4. Junior Engineers (Key Stage 2)

To find out more and to borrow an Explorer Box please use our School Enquiry form below.

Records of the Past Explorer Box  

These Explorer Boxes have been created using funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For Families

  • Family Events and Fun Days– We offer a wide range of family events and special interest days throughout the year. These include a variety of craft activities in addition to our Doris Duck Trail.  To see our full list of our family events visit our Events and Activities page
  • Doris Duck Detective Trail– Available throughout our open seson, visiting families can take part in our brand new riverside adventure trail. Pick up a trail booklet for £3 and let the beautiful illustrations lead you round our site and tell you all about the wildlife that call Coultershaw home. Collect stamps and complete challenges along the way before claiming a goody bag as you your reward!

For Adults

  • Talk and Tour- For special interest groups we can offer a talk and tour tailored for you.
  • Hire us– Our flexible Learning Space is available for hire. Set in a beautiful location it could make the perfect venue for your course or activity!
  • Coultershaw History Group– A friendly and informal group that meet on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month to socialise, share our love of local history and go on the occaional group outing. All are welcome! See our Events and Activities page for further information.
  • Volunteer with us– We rely totally on volunteers to keep Coultershaw going. We have a range of volunteering opportunites available including; stewarding, landscape maintenance, premisis maintenace, engineering help and assiting with events and school visits. If you have time to give, we would love to hear from you. Contact [email protected] to find out more.

The quality and variety of activities you provided was really impressive, and the attentiveness, enthusiasm and expertise of your team made the experience particularly enjoyable and memorable for the children. They have referred to things they learnt with you all in several lessons this week and love the bunting they made – you really have enhanced their learning during a really fun day out! I am sure you will be a very popular trip for schools once the word spreads

St Edmund's School, Key Stage 1 visit, May 2022

The children and I thoroughly enjoyed our day. Not even the rain could dampen the fantastic atmosphere. The staff were all very experienced and made each workshop interesting and exciting.
So many wonderful well thought out and planned activities.

Midhurst Cof E Primary School, Year 3 visit, October 2022

School Enquiry Form