School bookings
Find out all you need to know before making a school booking and the policy in terms of cancellation.
Key information
- We only accept bookings from schools on the basis of these terms and conditions. Bookings should be made by the school's representative acting on its behalf in the course of its professional business. If you're not representing a school and acting on its behalf, please contact us for details of the alternative terms and conditions on which you can make a booking.
- You may book gallery visits and taught sessions with us.
- Please book your visit at least one term in advance and wait for our booking confirmation before making travel arrangements. Please note that the Greek and Egyptian galleries book up quickly.
- While we endeavour to keep all major galleries open and to accommodate your needs, we regret that it may be necessary, for example, in the interests of security or public safety, for us to alter the Museum's opening hours or close specific areas of the Museum at any time and without prior notice. We're not able to guarantee that all our galleries will be open at the times and dates you require.
- Your visit to the British Museum, including entry into our galleries and attendance at any taught sessions, is at all times subject to any notice to visitors that we post on our premises, the direction, supervision and guidance of our staff and your compliance with our Visitor guidelines and conditions of entry. The regulations are available on our website and may also be inspected on notices on the perimeter of our premises. We reserve the right, without any liability to you, to refuse to allow you to enter the British Museum and/or escort you from our premises if you, in our judgment, breach any of the Regulations.
- Some sessions are offered free of charge, others require payment. Any chargeable workshops, presentations or other activities will need to be paid for at the time of booking.
- The British Museum asks that the designated lead teacher remains with their students for the duration of any booked workshop, presentation or taught gallery session. While the school may decide to bring additional teaching assistants and adult helpers, the Museum expects the lead teacher to remain with the students at all times during the session.
- If the lead teacher decides to leave the teaching space, except for immediate and unexpected personal/student care needs, the Museum reserves the right to stop the session and move the students and other adults to a space supported by Visitor Services staff until the lead teacher returns. On the return of the lead teacher, teaching will resume until the time advertised as the end time of the session. Please note that any time spent out of the teaching space will mean that not all of the session content will be deliverable.
Cancelling your booking
- All cancellations must be made by email to our Learning team at [email protected]
- If you're not able to attend a session you must inform the Box Office at least 14 days' before the session date.
- If you wish to cancel a session, regardless of whether it is for free or a fee-incurring session, you must do so at least 14 days' before the session date.
- We are unable to offer refunds or exchanges less than 14 days' in advance of any prebooked sessions, including all School presentations, School workshops, Tablet Tours or Virtual Visits. Please contact our Box Office at
[email protected] if you have any further enquiries. - Provided you cancel a booked session for which you have paid a fee at least 14 days' before the date of the session, we'll refund the fee in full.
Cancellation by the Museum
- If we have to cancel a booked session, we'll give you 14 days' prior written notice where we can. However, we regret that occasionally we may have to cancel or change the time or date of a booked session on less than 14 days' notice.
- If prior written notice of cancellation is given to you at least 14 days' before the date of the booked session, and if you elect not to take the option of a replacement, alternative session, we'll refund the whole or any part of the fee paid by you prior to cancellation, but we will not reimburse your travel and other costs.
- If we're unable to give you 14 days' prior notice of a cancellation or change to the time or date of a booked session, we'll give notice as soon as we reasonably can.
- If we cancel or change the time or date of a booked session without giving you reasonable notice, and you elect not to take the option of a replacement, alternative session, we'll reimburse the whole or any part of any fee paid for the booked session.
- If we cancel a booked session as the result of circumstances that are within our control, and if attending the session was the sole purpose of your visit to the Museum, we'll also reimburse any expenses and costs which you have reasonably incurred as a result of our cancellation of the session, but only to the extent that those costs could not have been mitigated by you.
- It's a condition of our acceptance of any booking of a session that you make that it will not be the sole reason for your visit to the British Museum, except in the cases of:
- Courses for teachers
- Study days for students in Years 12 and 13
- Sessions for Special Schools
- Key Stage 1 workshops
- Home education days