Stockport’s Hatting Heroes
This session is suitable for Key Stage 2.
Visit the Factory Floor and find out about Stockport’s hatting history and the lives of two ‘hatting heroes’ Sarah Ward and Elsie Plant. Your class will also explore changes through time using maps and, of course, try on some hats!
Stockport’s Fantastic Hats
This session is suitable for Key Stage 1.
Visit the Factory Floor and find out how hats were made in Stockport. Along the way your class will collect decoration materials and use them to decorate a simple hat to take back to school. There will also be a chance to try on some hats!
Times and availability
Both of our learning sessions are half day sessions available Thursday and Friday, from 10am to midday. We can adjust these times on request.
You can extend your visit with a teacher-led visit to the Gallery of Hats, or stay for lunch. Both must be booked in advance.
We can accommodate a maximum of 1 class per session.
Our learning sessions are very popular so we advise booking as far in advance as possible.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and access
You can find details about accessibility on our access at the Hat Works page.
We have accessible toilets.
If you'd like us to adapt our sessions to meet the needs of your pupils, get in touch with us.
We also have visual stories to help pupils with SEND prepare for their visit, which will be sent with the confirmation pack.
Price per school trip, up to 35 pupils
- Half day: £125 plus VAT
There is no VAT added for Stockport local authority schools.
You'll be invoiced following your session.
Home Educators
We welcome bookings from groups of home educating families and are happy to work with mixed age groups. We limit numbers per session to 40 people in total, including the adults attending.
Home educating families are also welcome to visit our sites as individuals on a self-led basis. You can read more information about all our museums.
Getting here
Plan your visit to the Hat Works gives details on getting here.
Book your school trip
Please get in touch with us to enquire about suitable dates.
After booking, you'll receive a confirmation email and we'll then follow up with a full confirmation pack containing:
- an itinerary
- travel information and suggested coach drop off points.
- a sample risk assessment
- a visual story
School trip cancellation policy
Cancellation policy
If you cancel your booking:
- less than 6 weeks in advance of the visit, you'll be invoiced for 25% of the full price
- less than 4 weeks in advance of the visit, you'll be invoiced for 50% of the full price
- less than 2 weeks in advance of the visit, we'll invoice you for the full price of the visit to cover our staffing costs
COVID-19 cancellation policy
If the visiting school or Stockport Museums Service has to cancel a trip due to COVID-19 related circumstances, no cancellation charge will be incurred by either the visiting school or Stockport Museums Service. Cancellations that are made due to COVID-19 must be discussed directly with a member of the school SLT as soon as possible prior to the visit.