Watatunga Education

Educational Experiences at Watatunga

At Watatunga, we offer an exceptional educational experience designed to inspire and engage young minds. We offer school visits on both Mondays and Friday year-round, throughout all seasons; we advise you to book ahead to secure your favoured date as we have limited resources. We can accommodate up to 70 children per day, splitting them into two groups for alternating sessions. Each group enjoys a captivating 1.5-hour tour of our breathtaking reserve, followed by an enriching 1-hour educational session. These sessions take place in our stretch tent and can include an interactive presentation with a Q&A segment, worksheets, hands-on interaction with animal pelts, horns and antlers and/or creative activities like colouring and making bird fat ball feeders. For younger audiences, we can offer a “Mini Wild Things” session, tailored for children aged 7 and under.

Our presentations can be unique tailored to each audience to align perfectly with your curriculum needs, covering topics such as ecology (bugs and beasties), evolution, habitats, and adaptations. We are committed to working closely with schools to craft the ideal agenda for your visit.

Pricing Structure:

Pre-school (3-4 yrs): £10 (<30) – £8 (30+)
Primary (4-11 yrs): £13 (<30) – £11 (30+)
Secondary (11-16 yrs): £17 (<30) – £15 (30+)
Higher Education (16+): £20 (<30) – £18 (30+)
Additional Guest/Staff Rate: £18 per adult outside of ratio (below)
Home Educated Students: Pricing dependent on age as per the above. Please be advised that we are only able to lead sessions for home educated students for groups of 35 individuals or less, this includes any accompanying parents.

Teacher-Student Ratios for Additional Charges:

Higher Education: 1:20
Secondary Education: 1:10
Primary Education: 1:8
Pre-School: 1:5

Please be advised that we do not offer concessionary rates for our educational visits, as these packages are already highly discounted. Booking in advance is highly recommended as spaces for 2026 are filling up fast.

Embark on a unique educational adventure at Watatunga, where learning comes to life amid stunning natural surroundings and fascinating wildlife. Let us help you create unforgettable experiences that will leave a lasting impact on your students.

To begin your unforgettable educational adventure at Watatunga, simply complete the form. Our team will assist you in planning a truly enriching visit, offering students a unique opportunity to engage with nature and wildlife conservation.

Inside Out – Bushcraft & Adventure Collaboration

We are pleased to be able to offer a joint experience in collaboration with our neighbours Inside Out – Bushcraft & Adventure; outdoor activity provider. For £24 per student, regardless of age or group size, students would have the opportunity to embark on a tour of Watatunga, as well undertaking a basic bushcraft skills session with Inside Out. Groups of up to 70 students are able to book this experience. Please note that groups of over 35 will need to be split in order to run two sessions simultaneously, and travel between sites is accounted for within the structure of your day, no additional transport required.

Unfortunately due to the outdoor bushcraft sessions, this is available KS2 level and above.

Miranda exploring the reserve with a school group. Taken by Ewan Bimpson

Student Placement Opportunities (18+)

We also offer student placement opportunities. These are incredibly competitive and book up well in advance, so please be sure to plan ahead. We only take placement students that are over the age of 18, who are studying an animal or veterinary related course. We also require students to have a full UK driving license. Our placement students will get to experience both helping with the tour team and helping out on animal rounds. If you are interested in booking a student placement with us please email education@watatunga.co.uk and include the following information: length of placement, type of course & availability.

Research Opportunities

We love to support students with research projects here. If you are interested in studying any of the animals at Watatunga then please do send us an email on education@watatunga.co.uk and we will see how we can help. We have plenty of areas that we would like to learn more about within our reserve at Watatunga such as: the seasonal use of the reserve in different species, inter-specific behaviour, nutrition, heat emission in different species throughout the different seasons of the year etc. We have tracking collars, multiple camera traps & thermal imaging cameras that can be utilised for research projects. We hope to put out a list of prospective projects for students later on this year.

Education Policy

If you would like to know more about our in-house education programmes, please feel free to see our policy here.

Education Enquiry Form

Name of school

Lead contact

Lead email

Lead telephone no.

Potential date of visit (please be advised we reserve Mondays & Fridays for school visits year-round)

Number and age of children

Number of adults

A typical educational visit includes a 1.5hr tour, lunch break and a 1.5hr interactive session. Does this fit your agenda?

Do you have any access requirements or students with any special educational requirements?

Is there anything else you would like us to know prior to your visit?

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are site visits available for visiting schools?

As we are a very small team, site visits are currently unavailable. You are more than welcome to arrange a time with us for a call beforehand to discuss any requirements you may have.

Are there any height restrictions when visiting on a coach?

We have a wooden structure at our entrance. The maximum vehicle height is 12’6″ or 3.8m. Double decker coaches are too large to fit through this structure, but standard coaches are fine.

What are the parking facilities like?

Our spacious car park can accommodate multiple vehicles, including coaches, with an overflow area located near the entrance to the site.

Is there a designated space to have lunch?

Our stretch tent can be utilised & picnic benches are available. Tea and coffee are available for purchase in our reception building.

Is there somewhere safe to leave bags and belongings?

The reception building will remain locked whilst your group is on tour, you are welcome to leave anything in here.

Is there somewhere to buy refreshments?

The coffee shop will be open for the duration of your experience selling a variety of cold and hot drinks & light refreshments.

How can I find Watatunga Wildlife Reserve?

The entrance to Watatunga Wildlife Reserve is situated just off the A10/A134 Watlington Road roundabout heading towards Watlington. Our postcode is PE33 0RG but is unreliable on a Sat Nav for our entrance. Please use our what3words.com location “contracts.recruited.resources” for an accurate location of the entrance and then follow the signs to reception.

Conservation Today for Wildlife Tomorrow

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