• Swindon & Wiltshire Education, training and skills
• Wednesday July 2 2025

English Heritage starts work on major new Learning Centre at Stonehenge

English Heritage has started work on new education facilities at Stonehenge, which will be launching for the 2026/2027 school year.

Encompassing a brand-new accessible learning centre with a STEM discovery lab and digital studio, a unique classroom in the shape of a hands-on Neolithic Hall, and an exciting new STEM in Heritage programme for school visits, English Heritage’s Learning at Stonehenge project will enable more schoolchildren to visit and learn from the awe-inspiring UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It also responds to the huge demand the charity is seeing for STEM learning, exploring topics of science, technology, engineering and maths in an accessible and engaging way.

Using historically authentic methods and locally sourced materials including thatch, coppiced timber and chalk daub, part of the project will see English Heritage building a classroom with a difference – a reconstruction of a Neolithic building big enough for 30 students, based on archaeological evidence from nearby prehistoric settlement Durrington Walls.

This volunteer-led project will bring together existing Stonehenge volunteers and students from Exeter and Bournemouth Universities, all working under the expert guidance of award-winning experimental archaeologist Luke Winter.

Additionally, local schools will have opportunities to participate, offering a rare hands-on learning experience.

The resulting Kusuma Neolithic Hall will transport learners back in time as they gather around the hearth, handle replica tools and discover what everyday life was like 5,000 years ago.

English Heritage is also constructing a new environmentally-sensitive, dedicated Learning Centre, which will allow the charity to broaden its education offering with new activities and experiences. Housing the Clore Discovery Lab, Weston Learning Studio, digital production studio, Wolfson Foyer and an open-air courtyard to support sensory learning, the new Learning Centre will feature modern equipment and accessible, inclusive practical facilities, including a Changing Places space and a smaller break out area for those with different educational needs.

Steve Bax, English Heritage’s operations director Stonehenge and West, said: “Around 48,000 children visit Stonehenge on free school trips every year, and a further 12,000 on our expert-led Discovery Visits.

“As a charity, one of our main purposes is to provide everyone with memorable learning experiences but, at Stonehenge, we are currently unable to meet the demand. Expanding our offering with the new dedicated Learning Centre will transform our ability to deliver incredible educational experiences for students and instil a lifelong love of learning in every single child.

“Over the past few years, we have seen a rocketing demand for multi-disciplinary educational experiences, where our heritage sites can be used to engage and inspire young people in subjects such as science and maths.

“At Stonehenge, students can trace the impact of human activity on the environment, learn how prehistoric engineers raised the stones, explore the relationship between the sun and Stonehenge and discover how geophysical surveys can uncover buried secrets.

“Our new facilities aim to make these STEM topics far more accessible to students who struggle to engage with them in a traditional classroom environment. We want them to come away asking themselves: if the Stonehenge builders could create something incredible thousands of years ago, without calculators and computers, why can’t I?”

Construction of the new Stonehenge Learning Centre began on June 30, with work on the Kusuma Neolithic Hall starting shortly after.