Book your visit

"With more than three thousand young people visiting the Centre every year, booking early is essential. We aim to make booking as easy as possible."

Dr Anjali Das, Head of Learning at The Centre for Computing History

This section will provide you with information about:

booking the date for your visit to The Centre for Computing History
group sizes, charges and duration
accompanying adults
the Centre
changing your booking details and cancellation

Booking a date for your visit

We welcome education group visits to the Centre Wednesdays to Fridays, 10.00 am to 5.00 pm during Cambridgeshire's academic term times.

Please explore the Learning section of our website to fully understand what we offer and our terms and conditions, before making a booking.

Booking a visit to the Centre is a three step process.

Step 1

To secure a provisional date, please send us two or three alternative dates that are suitable for you, along with:

your name
the name of your organisation
intended group size
age or year group of the students you wish to bring
your choice of workshop

You can check the options for your workshop here

Your request for a provisional date should be sent to: education@computinghistory.org.uk

Step 2

We will respond to your request by confirming the availability of your suggested date. At this point you will be asked for a non-refundable deposit to secure the date. The deposit amount will be 20% of your visit charge or £100, whichever is higher (+VAT, where applicable). An invoice will be raised and on receipt of the funds a provisional booking will be created and the link to our booking form will be sent.

Please note that sometimes due to demand we may need to ask you for alternative dates.

Step 3

The completed booking form must be returned to us no later than 6 weeks before your visit. An invoice for the balance will be issued upon receipt of the completed booking form and is payable within 30 days.

When we receive your completed booking form we will send you confirmation of your booking and your visit date is then secured. At this point you have a confirmed booking and we will send you a booking summary.

A confirmed booking is subject to our terms and conditions, downloadable at the bottom of this page.

Group sizes and charges

The Centre welcomes education group visits from schools, colleges and universities for up to 60 students per visit. Groups are defined as:

Group size	Number of students	Recommended minimum visit time	Visit Charge	Non-refundable Deposit
Small	between 1 and 15 students	3 hrs	£220	£100
Medium	between 16 and 30 students	3 hrs 10mins	£435	£100
Large	between 31 and 45 students	3 hrs 40mins	£650	£130
Extra Large	between 46 and 60 students	4 hrs 50mins	£870	£174

Support from sponsors (currently Citrix and u-blox) continues to enable us to reduce the cost of your visit to our Centre in 2024/25 (currently only available for the Autumn Term).

The charges described above will be discounted by £2 per student.

To find out more with example charges, please click here.

We get approximately the same number of visits by organisations bringing a small, medium, large or very large group.
Organisations that visited us (from the UK) came from places such as; Birmingham, Nottingham, Coventry, Leicester, Norwich, Ipswich, Colchester, Southend-on-Sea, Maidstone, Brighton and Reading.

Our recommended minimum visit times ensure all students receive a high quality learning experience. Supervising adults for the visit are included in the costs quoted within the accepted ratios as detailed below and in our terms and conditions.

The prices shown do not include any VAT that may be applicable.

For groups of more than 60 students, please contact us (email: education@computinghistory.org.uk ) . We may be able to accommodate you but this would only be possible with prior agreement. Groups of this size would be subject to a different charging structure.

Bookings for groups of less than 15 students are also acceptable for students with additional needs or where a larger group would cause difficulties. These are subject to different arrangements and discounted charges, so please contact us by emailing education@computinghistory.org.uk to discuss your requirements.

Supervising adults

Your education group visit is accepted on the condition that there is a ratio of students to supervising adults of not more than;

6:1 if your students are in Years 1-3,

10:1 if your students are in Years 4-6,

15:1 if your students are in Year 7 onwards.

For example;

a 'medium' sized group of 27 Year 6 students: 27/10=2.7 So would require 3 supervising adults.

a 'large' group of 42 Year 11 students: 42/15 = 2.8 So would require 3 supervising adults.

University (HE) groups need only to offer a named adult responsible for the visiting group.

Supervising adults within these ratios are offered free places.

Changing booking details

Group sizes and charges are agreed using the online booking form and our arrangements are made based on the details in your form.

If there are any reductions to the number of students visiting and this affects the group size band your visit falls into or you decide to cancel either the planned activities or your booking, The Centre must be informed in writing at least 6 weeks before the date of your visit.

You can increase student numbers for the visit provided the change does not increase your band size by more than one band and if you inform the Centre no less than 14 days from your visit date. An increase in the number of students attending the visit may result in an increase in the charge for the visit in accordance with our charges for educational visits detailed on our website. Please allow enough time to tell The Centre about any changes in numbers.

Cancellation of your visit is acceptable up to 6 weeks prior to the date of your visit. Cancellation within the 6 week period will not result in any refund. Please read our terms and conditions carefully. They can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.

The Centre

The Centre for Computing History is based in Cambridge and directions to help you find us are here.

Why not download and print the PDF 'directions to get to us' and give them to your coach or minibus driver.

We can accommodate mini-buses or a coach at the Centre as transport for your visit, but ask that you inform us of your choice through the online booking process.

The arrangements for the day include a short lunch break and space will be provided for your students to eat their lunch. Some refreshments are available through the shop at the Centre.

The Centre is accessible for wheelchair users and includes a dedicated toilet for the disabled. Please inform us of any special needs that you think we should be aware of or that you’d like us to make additional arrangements for.