Mrs Sargood teaches at your school! Ring ring goes the bell! Mrs Sargood is about to begin her lessons instructing young ladies and gentleman in the history of the British Empire, civil manners, punishments and how to use an ink nib pen in your classroom. As a mother of a family of ten children, distinguished society matron and home school teacher Mrs Sargood is a real character from Rippon Lea's past. This is an exciting new program designed to give students an authentic experience of the 19th Century Australian school classroom. A professional National Trust education facilitator, Georgina Wade, plays the role of Marian Australia Sargood. If you cannot organise an excursion to Rippon Lea this is an ideal option or as a post Rippon Lea excursion activity.
		Booking your Mrs Sargood Incursion: Phone (03) 8663 7261 Email: bookings@nattrust.com.au Price: $250 for first session + $80 per additional session Booking Request Form - NTAV Incursions (PDF) 132.54 kB To assist with bookings, please download the request form above. Minimum booking: 1 session for max 30 students Melbourne and suburbs only.

School Programs at Rippon Lea

Rippon Lea provides an ideal learning environment for students of various levels.

The National Trust has developed an exciting full day VELS program for primary students, offers specialist tours for ESL students and makes a perfect venue for secondary and tertiary students interested in sustainability, history, architecture or interior design or wanting to practise their creativity in photography, art and drama.

Primary Program

We offer a full day program for Kinder to Yr 6 for groups of between 30 and 60 students. The program is ideal for "Then & Now" themes and engages students through the story of the Sargood family who lived at Rippon Lea in the 1870s, interactive activities, handling objects and old fashioned games.

The program is mapped to VELS strands and domains including Physical Learning, Arts, English, Mathematics, Science, Design and ICT at a year 3 level. Download a VELS map of the program strands and domains.

Download the Rippon Lea Teacher Notes and Activity program.

Note that some activities are outside and weather dependent and two of the activities are self led.

The Time Machine Experience: Travelling back to 1887 in the Rippon Lea Time Ripper students investigate the mansion, learn about the Sargood family, the toys and artefacts that children owned and the clothes that they wore.

World of Work: Exploring the original kitchens, students are introduced to Rippon Lea ’s servants and 19th century work. They undertake some of the simpler tasks from washing and ironing to butter churning and also handle some of the 19th Centuries more intriguing inventions.

Creature Catcher: An outdoor self led trail activity - students search for the twelve missing creatures from Rippon Lea’s past and present around the 5.7 hectares of Rippon Lea’s heritage parklands.

19th Century Games: An outdoor self led activity - Students try their hand at croquet, quoits, skittles and other games on the lawn.

ESL Groups / Secondary Groups

Volunteer guides conduct special guided tours of the mansion for ESL groups and secondary students. Secondary students an also use Rippon Lea as a venue for art activities. Please contact Education Manager Martin Green - 9656 9822 for details.

VCE Geography Excursion & KIt

Go to our separate web page for full details of the new VCE Geography Kit now availble for download and use at Rippon Lea.

Booking your Visit:

Contact our Education Bookings Line: 03 8663 7261 or email bookings@nattrust.com.au

Booking Request Form available here

Group Information and Cost: The maximum group size is 60. The minimum group size is 30. Cost for all programs is $9 per student, plus an $8 booking fee (Carers and Teachers are free entry.) Groups should be split into four smaller groups prior to arrival.

Cancellation Policy: Please advise us ten days prior to cancellation or a further $20 fee will apply. (see Wet Weather Policy)

What to bring:
We recommend students bring suitable clothing for oputdoors activities and their own lunch and drinks to enjoy in the grounds as purchases at the Gatehouse café are limited. Cameras are a great idea but flash photography is not permitted inside the mansion. Bag storage can be arranged but we do not take responsibility for the storage of valuables.

Wet Weather Warning:
We will recommend cancelling on wet weather days and will call you about this close to the time of your excursion. Many of the activities are run outdoors and wet weather cover is limited. We recommend rescheduling on a wet weather day.

How to get here: Main Entrance at 192 Hotham Street, Elsternwick. Melways Reference: 67E2.

Public Transport: Rippon Lea is five minutes walk away from Rippon Lea train station on the Sandringham line.

Parking: Parking is available all day on Hotham Street for coaches and cars.

2011 NT Education Programs

New NT Education Programs for 2011 Over 35,000 students annually enjoy our programs at Victoria’s premier heritage attractions. Take your students on an excursion to the 19th C tall ship Polly Woodside, Melbourne's Old Magistrates Court, the Old Melbourne Gaol, Governor La Trobe's modest early colonial home, the McCrae's pioneer homestead and the splendour of Rippon Lea and Como's grand estates and mansions. Our new programs include a History - in - a Box handling collection you can borrow and Mrs Sargood incursion program. Download our complete program booklet for details. Education Booklet A5_2011 (PDF) 981.12 kB