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Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

British Schools Museum

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British Schools Museum

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A museum of primary education and the social history of childhood
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27/10/2026

Our craft sessions are sold out but we are still excited to see you at our spoOOOoky Headmaster's House this weekend! Come and join us, and get into the Halloween spirit!

26/10/2026

Our Halloween events are now sold out, but there’s still spooky fun to enjoy!

Visit on Saturday or Sunday to explore our Spooky School House as part of regular museum admission. Every child’s admission also includes a free Halloween craft activity to enjoy at your own pace.

23/10/2026

🎃 A big thank you to Asda for donating 28 pumpkins for our Halloween fun events! We are very grateful for their support. As an independent charity, all proceeds help us run the museum and play café.

Extra tickets have just been added for our Halloween craft events!

🎃 Saturday 24th October
🎃 Tuesday 27th to Friday 30th October
🕙 10am to 12 noon or 1pm to 3pm

Enjoy Halloween crafts, carve a pumpkin and explore our Spooky School House, if you dare!

Book your tickets here: https://bsmevents.yapsody.com/event/index/876517/Halloween-Crafts-Pumpkins-at-the-British-Schools-Museum

22/10/2026

Ready for the spooky mood?

Carve or decorate your own pumpkin, tour our haunted Headmaster's House, and take part in spooOOOooky crafts for kids...

Join us this Halloween Half Term for the only indoor Pumpkin Patch in Hitchin. With pumpkin carving* (or decorating for younger kids), halloweeny crafts, and a spooky school house!

With various levels of entry, choose between crafts, with a tour of our Spooky School House, add pumpkin carving/decorating or even add a personalised tour of the Museum from our Museum team!

Tickets available here:https://bsmevents.yapsody.com/event/index/876517/Halloween-Crafts-Pumpkins-at-the-British-Schools-Museum

15/10/2026

Fallen from grace...

This board game is a fascinating example of the hidden curriculum of children's moral education. Early 20th-century versions of Snakes and Ladders inherited the strong moral lessons of the late Victorian era. Adapted from the ancient Indian spiritual game Moksha Patam (or Gyan Chaupar), the game was commercialised in Britain during the 1890s. Publishers such as J.W. Spear & Sons and Chad Valley transformed its original Hindu and Jain concepts of karma into a framework of virtues and vices of an industrial society.

On this board, every snake and ladder carries a moral lesson. The length of each one reflects the perceived seriousness of a vice or the value of a virtue: the worse the failing, the further the fall; the greater the virtue, the higher the climb. Indolence leads to poverty, indulgence risks illness, while patience brings attainment and industry paves the way to success. Through play, children were encouraged to develop both good morals and a strong work ethic.

If you were designing a Snakes and Ladders board today, which behaviours would earn a ladder, and which would send you sliding down a snake?

12/10/2026

11/10/2026

💀🎃In the Hallowe'en mood yet? Check out our exhibition Unmentionables that will spook you out with the most horrible bits of local history! https://britishschoolsmuseum.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/

08/10/2026

Are you getting into the Halloween mood as well? 🎃

This weak, we feature a lovely piece of our book collection, 'Round The Grange Farm: Or, Good Old Times' By Jean L. Watson. The nostalgia imbued novel explores the traditional Scottish celebration of Hallowe'en as a blend of ancient pagan folklore and cozy community festivities.

🍵Chapter IX details various fortune-telling and matchmaking games, such as apple bobbing, casting egg whites in water, and the game of luggies, used by villagers to playfully "trifle with fate".

🪄In Ireland and Scotland, Three Luggies (also known as Three Bowls) is a classic Halloween parlor game played during Samhain Three bowls are placed on a table—one with clean water, one with dirty water, and one empty. A player is blindfolded, spun around, and must dip their fingers into a bowl. Choosing the clean water predicts a happy marriage; the dirty water predicts a troubled marriage; the empty bowl predicts remaining single.

So which one will you pick?

05/10/2026

We’re hiring!

The British Schools Museum in Hitchin is looking for a Finance Officer/Administrator to join our small, friendly team.

20 hours per week, ideally Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm, with some flexibility.

£26,500 per annum, full time equivalent, pro rata for 20 hours per week.

You’ll look after our day to day finances, prepare monthly accounts and audience statistics, and help with school and group bookings and general administration.

We’re looking for someone with finance experience, confidence using Microsoft Office and Sage Online, and good attention to detail. Discretion and a considerate approach to working with others are also important.

Apply by Monday 19th October 2026.

Please send your CV and a short covering letter to [email protected].

Full details and the job description are on our website: https://www.britishschoolsmuseum.org.uk/opportunities-support/job-vacancies/

Please share with anyone who might be interested!

Address

41 Queen Street
Hitchin
SG49TS

Opening Hours

Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm
Sunday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+441462420144

Website

http://www.britishschoolsmuseum.org.uk/

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