School and College Visits
School groups from Year 3 upwards can visit Greatmoor.
During your visit your class may work in 2 or 3 rotating groups, with a maximum of around 30 pupils. However we can cater for groups of up to 45 pupils, though this will impact on the ease of the visit.
The visit will comprise of a tour of the facility and other activities investigating waste reduction, reuse and recycling in the visitor centre. The tour includes visits to the control room, grab crane and waste bunker and the grate (including a view of the fire through the viewing hatch).
The site tour will be led by the Waste Awareness and Education Manager or Supervisor. The other activities usually be led by school staff – however the Waste Awareness and Education Manager will run through the activities with you during a pre-visit.
All participants (both child and adult) will need to wear long sleeves and trousers and PPE during the site tour. This will include Hi-Viz tabard, Hard Hat, Gloves, Glasses and Steel Toe Cap Boots. All of this PPE is provided for visiting groups. Anyone unwilling to wear these items will unfortunately not be allowed onto the plant.
A planning meeting between the lead teacher(s) and the Waste Awareness and Education Manager is a requirement before the visit.
Contact us to discuss your visit
- The toilet facilities in the Visitor Centre are exclusively for visitors
- There is a designated coach space at the near end of the car park
- There is no charge for visits to Greatmoor, all you need to do is get here!
You can check our current availability and make a provisional booking here:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1374703046819?aff=oddtdtcreator
“The tour was very engaging, Staff were fantastic and worked well with the varying needs of the children. Questions and answers were great”
Junior School Teacher March 2022
“The presentation that we were taken through before the tour was very informative and set the scene well for the tour we were going to take. The activities we completed about recycling were very interesting and worked well as they were interactive for the students and enabled them each to have a go and get involved.”
Adult Education Tutor March 2022
My group loved the tour and each had a different favourite part of it. We were very appreciative of the time given, not only the tutor, but the claw operators as well. They engaged with the students very well and answered all our many, many questions!
Special School Teacher January 2023
“The students enjoyed everything. The tour around clearly showing the processes which had been explained in the presentation. It made the students think about what happens to the waste.”
Further Education College Tutor March 2022
“The tour was brilliant and really informative”
Secondary School Teacher December 2022
“The presentation with the information about the facility was very informative, the students enjoyed the tour and learnt a lot about what how it works and misconceptions were addressed.”
Secondary School Teacher April 2023
“The tour was very interesting and many of the children were inspired to ask questions. The activities were accessible and well organised as was the PPE. Direct links were made to the children’s own experience.”
Primary School Teacher February 2023
“Thank you so much for organising and delivering such a fabulous learning experience for our LIFT Programme students last week. So many students are still talking about it and it seems they have gone home and described everything to parents too which is lovely.
One student shared with me today that she sat in a science lesson on Friday and they were looking at electricity. She said she thought to herself ” I just did this at Greatmoor, I know all about this, I know how electricity is made, I saw it being done !
She was so pleased and felt knowledgeable which is great as she also shared that she spends a lot of time in lessons struggling to follow what is being discussed”
Buckingham School September 2025
Activities include
For more detailed information about these activities
Waste Sorting – Which waste items go into which bin….and what happens to them afterwards
Waste Hierarchy – What is the waste hierarchy? Can you think of different ways to reduce and reuse waste?
Reuse – What are the different ways of reusing waste items? Can you come up with any great reuse ideas of your own?
Re-imagining Packaging – Is packaging necessary? What is it for and can it be reduced? How can you minimise packaging?
Rot or Not? – Will that litter that’s been thrown away rot down? Could it still be there next year or in 500 years time?
What is Recycling – What could a cardboard box, aluminium can, glass jar and plastic bottle be recycled into?
Food Waste – What food items are thrown away by UK households the most? Can you pick the items that are thrown away the least and avoid a food waste disaster?
Making Waste – Discover how much energy it takes to create some common waste items, and how much can be saved if they are recycled
Waste Free Lunch Challenge – Lunchtime can be the source of waste – crisp packets, clingfilm etc. Can your class create a waste free lunch?
Wordsearch with a difference. Find the waste items and decide which bin they should go in.
Bin Dice – Roll the 2 bin dice – one has materials on it, and the other has bins and waste facilities on it. Can you think of something that meets the two rolled criteria?
The Waste Awareness and Education Manager may also visit your school to give assemblies or talks and run many of these activities in class or as an afterschool activity
What to wear
It is essential that all students are wearing long sleeves, long trousers (no skirts or shorts) and suitable footwear
Preliminary Visit
It is essential that the lead teacher makes a preliminary visit to the facility to meet the Waste Awareness and Education Manager, undertake risk assessments, site inductions and finalise plans for the day – we may be able to do this during evenings or holidays if required.