Education FAQ’s
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions.
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1. What does a visit involve?
Explore three floors of fascinating facts on a fully-guided tour of York’s confectionary heritage. Discover chocolate’s origins, how to make it and how to taste it like an expert. Interact with the personal memories of industry workers in times gone by and hear the stories of York’s famous brands, from the Chocolate Orange to the globally famous KitKat.
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2. How long should we expect it to last?
We recommend you allow between 1hr – 1hr 15 minutes for your school tour. If you have booked an additional workshop session with us, we recommend you allow an additional hour for this element.
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3. What age group is York’s Chocolate Story suitable for?
York’s Chocolate Story is designed to appeal to pupils of all ages. We will record the age and key stage of the school group at the time of booking and adapt our delivery and approach to best suit your group.
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4. Where can our coach drop off/park?
York is served by two large coach parks at St. George’s Fields and Union Street. Both coach parks are a 10-15 minute walk from the attraction. The closest coach drop-off point is on Lord Mayor’s Walk. From there you need to walk through Monk Bar (the arched gateway) and down Goodramgate to King’s Square. This should take you approximately five minutes.
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5. Where can we eat lunch?
We have lunch space available on-site dependent on group size (for a fee of £1.50 pp). We are also within walking distance of Museum Gardens and the Minster Park and we do have a number of contacts we can provide that offer pre-bookable lunch space for school groups for a hire fee. Our Reservations team will be happy to advise you further.
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6. What do you offer for teachers and adult supervisors?
We are pleased to offer teaching staff/adult supervisors 1x free ticket for every 6x school child tickets purchased (based on 1:6 ratio). Any additional teaching staff/adult supervisors who visit and have not pre-booked as part of the tour group will need to pay the full adult admission price to gain entry.
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7. How do you get around the attraction?
York’s Chocolate Story is a three-floor visitor attraction that is explored on foot. Your tour normally starts via a short lift ride to the top floor, however, anyone unable to use the lift can be escorted to the first room via the stairs. We do have limited seating in the attraction for visitors that cannot stand for long periods of time; please enquire for more information.
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8. Where can we store our bags, coats and lunchboxes?
Unfortunately, we can not store your belongings in our facility, please keep your belongings with you at all times. If you have booked our lunch/workshop room and we have the availability, we would be more than happy for you to keep your belonging there while you complete the tour. York’s Chocolate Story cannot claim responsibility for any loss, damage or theft of property stored in this area.
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9. Are there disabled facilities?
We have a disabled toilet in our café on the ground floor of our attraction, and our Guided Tour is fully accessible via lift. We can accommodate one wheelchair user for per floor in keeping with Fire Safety regulations. Please note that our school workshops are hosted in our onsite basement function room, the “Skipper Suite”, which is only accessible via a flight of stairs. Please visit our accessibility page for more information.
Feel free to contact our reservation team via an enquiry form if you have any questions.
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10. What do your workshops involve?
We offer school groups the opportunity for an enhanced and extended hands-on workshop session linked to the National Curriculum as an additional activity to add to your booking. Joint ticket prices are calculated based on the number of pupils participating and our Reservations team will be able to provide you with a quote.
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11. What happens if we are running late?
York’s Chocolate Story is a live guided-tour experience that has an allocated time slot. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to accommodate for you if your group is late. We ask you to arrive at least 10 minutes before the start of your tour and allow adequate time to walk to the attraction from the coach park or drop-off point. If you are aware your group is running late, please call the attraction on 01904 527765 to inform us.
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13. Some of my pupils have Special Educational needs. What provision can you make?
York’s Chocolate Story is a tactile and multi-sensory experience that can bring chocolate to life for children with a variety of special educational needs. We are happy to offer school pupils requiring 1:1 care or supervision a free carer place. Please alert our team to the special requirements of your group at the time of booking and we will endeavour to take your needs into consideration on our tours. We strongly recommend you organise a complimentary pre-visit to familiarise yourself with our facilities and accessibility.
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14. Do you cater for specific dietary requirements?
It is essential that groups with specific dietary requirements contact us before the visit. The chocolate which we provide on the tour may contain dairy and cannot be guaranteed to be wheat/gluten-free or produced in a nut-free environment, so we happily offer those with intolerances and allergies, an alternative chocolate product.
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15. What involvement do you have with the Chocolate Trail?
York’s Chocolate Story offers a Chocolate Landmark Trail for school pupils free of charge. This activity can be downloaded from our Educational Resources webpage and our Reservations team may suggest this has a place in your itinerary if you are bringing a larger group. The trail is an independent walking activity and is not managed or monitored by our staff and we strongly recommend you visit beforehand to familiarise yourself with how much or how little of the trail you wish to complete.
Education Enquiry Form
York’s Chocolate Story
King’s Square, York YO1 7LD
