Many schools in and around Bristol are limited to the amount of school trips and experiences that they can take part in, due to financial constraints.

Brunel 200 offered £200 to every school in the city, which could be spent on travel to, or admission into a Brunel attraction. 59 schools took advantage of the scheme, saving almost £12,000 that would otherwise have had to been found by schools and parents.

Schools visited the ss Great Britain, Clifton Suspension Bridge, the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum and Bristol Temple Meads, amongst others. Although exact numbers of children were not measured, many schools took more than one class on each trip, which would have resulted in over 1,500 students taking part, as well as teachers and assistants. Between January and November 2006, Mike Rowland from the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust, reported visitor numbers for school groups at 3,367 children who were 16 years and under, many of whom had been able to take advantage of the scheme in place.

Schools were able to make important links with the curriculum, including Literacy, Science, Drama, Music, Local History, the Victorians, Art and Citizenship.

For many students, this was the first time that they had visited some of the Brunel attractions in the city, an opportunity they wouldn’t have had but for the financial support.

“95% of the children have never seen the bridge before.”
Millpond Primary School teacher, visit to Clifton Suspension Bridge

Pupils from West Town Lane Infants School described going across the Suspension Bridge as:

“Wonderful.”

”Spooky.”

”It made me feel a bit dizzy!”

“I thought I was going to fall off!”

“It was a fantastic day!!!”

“Isambard Kingdom Brunel was crazy about bridges, trains, boats.”

“I loved it!”

“The impact of the visits has been immense, the learning in the classroom has been much better and deeper. Once again many thanks – without the funding for the trips it would not have been nearly so meaningful.”
Christine Purnell, Fair Furlong