School visits

School bee visits across Gwent

A beekeeper, real hive equipment and, in season, a sealed observation hive full of living bees, brought to your school or welcomed at our apiary at Greenmeadow Community Farm.

Enquire about a school visit Add candle-making
Beekeeper Markus Cox holding up a frame of honeycomb while talking to a seated group in an outdoor teaching shelter

A visit at a glance

About 45 minA standard school visit.
About 70 minWith the optional candle-making workshop, which adds about 25 minutes.
£1.50 a childFor candle-making only. The standard visit is free for schools in the Gwent area.
Suitable for
Children aged six and upwards
Where
At your school, or at Greenmeadow Community Farm in Cwmbran
Area
GwentTorfaen, Blaenau Gwent, Newport, Caerphilly and Monmouthshire
Group size
Class-sized groupsRepeat sessions can cover a whole year group
Notice
At least 10 days, weekdays only
Registered
National Bee Unit apiary, ID 100414

What children learn

How a colony works, and why it matters

  • Life inside the hive. The queen, the workers and the drones, and how thousands of bees share the work.
  • From flower to jar. How bees make honey and wax, and how a beekeeper harvests only what the colony can spare.
  • Pollination and food. Why bees matter to the plants we eat and the wildlife around us.
  • Bees in trouble. Varroa mites, bee health and what is happening to bees in the South Wales valleys.

Each session is pitched to the age of the group and fits easily alongside Curriculum for Wales science and outdoor learning.

What they will see

Real kit, handed round

  • Inside a hive. Brood frames, supers, foundation and drawn comb to hold and look at closely.
  • The beekeeper's equipment. Suits, veils, gloves, smoker and hive tool, and what each is for.
  • Living bees, safely sealed in. Between 1 April and 1 October we can bring an observation hive: a real colony behind glass, fully contained, where children can hunt for the queen. Outside those dates the colony stays at home for its own welfare.
  • Honey from our apiaries. How it is extracted and filtered, finishing with honey from our own sites in Torfaen.
A table of beekeeping equipment laid out for a school visit, including a veil, gloves, hive boxes of frames and jars of honey
Some of the equipment we bring on a visit.

Try on a bee suit

See what it is like to be a beekeeper

Children aged six and upwards may be able to try on a real beekeeping suit and veil during the visit.

Trying on the suit is part of learning how beekeepers keep themselves and their bees safe. It does not mean children will handle live bees or go into an apiary. We bring the suits we have, so we cannot promise every size at every session.

Children's bee suits are one of the things sponsors help us buy.

For teachers

What to expect

We come to your school

We bring the equipment and, in season, the observation hive, and set up in your hall or classroom around your timetable. All we need is a table and a bit of floor space.

Free for schools anywhere in the Gwent area, with no travel or materials charge. Candle-making is the only paid part.

Your class comes to us

Bring a group to our educational apiary at Greenmeadow Community Farm in Cwmbran to see working hives where they actually live, alongside the same equipment session.

Please note: Greenmeadow Community Farm runs its own admission and ticketing. Book your group in with the farm directly and let us know the date.

  1. Pick a date and tell us about the group

    Use the calendar below. The date is held for you straight away.

  2. We confirm by email

    Every request is provisional until Markus confirms it, usually within a couple of days.

  3. On the day

    We arrive with everything we need. If you chose candle-making we will confirm the number of children and how to pay the £1.50 per child when we confirm the booking.

Funded sessions. The standard visit is free to Gwent schools, and candle-making is kept to £1.50 a child because Tŷ Mêl subsidises it. Sponsorship from local people and businesses helps us keep it that way. How sponsorship helps.

Check dates and enquire about a visit

Weekdays are open unless the diary says otherwise. Choose a day, tell us about your group, and the date is held for you while Markus confirms it. Nothing is charged online.

  1. Pick a date
  2. Your details
  3. We confirm

Loading the diary…

  • Free to book
  • One session left
  • Provisionally held
  • Fully booked
  • Not available

No suitable date, or want to check on a booking?

Already have a reference? Check where your request has got to.

Send us an enquiry instead

Tell us about your group and we will come back to you with dates.

We only use these details to reply to you. See our privacy notice.

Questions teachers ask

Is the visit really free?

Yes. The standard visit of about 45 minutes is free for schools in the Gwent area, with no travel or materials charge. The candle-making workshop is the only paid part, at £1.50 per child.

Will the children handle bees?

No. When we bring the observation hive, the bees stay sealed behind glass the whole time. Trying on a bee suit is about learning how beekeepers stay safe; it does not involve handling live bees.

Can you visit outside the bee season?

Yes. Between October and March the visit runs with hive parts, comb, equipment and honey, and the colony stays at home for its own welfare.

What about community groups, clubs or events?

Please see bee talks and demonstrations, which has its own enquiry form.