School Booking Terms and Conditions

Educational groups are ineligible for the FREE annual pass upgrade, as per our terms and conditions. Children and students who already have an annual pass may use their annual pass to visit with an educational group, however you must present the annual pass upon arrival. Home-education families may also claim the discounted educational visit rate, however this again makes tickets ineligible for the FREE annual pass upgrade

We allow bookings for educational groups during term time and summer holidays. We do not accept any bookings for groups during on-peak hours, such as half-term holidays, nor on event weekends. Please refer to our what’s on calendar to find out more, fill out an enquiry form, call us at 0116 258 2111, or contact [email protected].

To claim the discounted, educational rate, you MUST book through the bookings team. This can only be done via email after filling out an enquiry form, over the phone at 0116 258 2111 or by emailing [email protected]. We do NOT accept walk up education groups. Please note we are typically sold out for school groups during term time, so please book as far in advance as possible to ensure your preferred visit date and additional activities. Please note: We do not take provisional bookings. Please ensure you have secured permission to book the visit and checked coach availability before making a booking with us.

Once the visit letter has been sent, you have 14 days to sign and return this letter to confirm your booking. Should you not return the letter within those 14 days, we reserve the right to cancel your booking. We cannot guarantee that unconfirmed and therefore cancelled bookings can be rebooked.

Educational bookings with additional activities, such as workshops, TetraStar Space Missions and StarDome bookings, are subject to a £50, non-refundable deposit, per workshop. This deposit should be sent within 14 days, along with your ed-visit letter. Should you cancel any workshop-based activity, the deposit is redeemable against your booking; please note, if you cancel any workshops within our 14-day cancellation period, you will still be liable for the full cost of your workshop(s).

For outreach bookings, you may redeem your deposit against a future visit, which must be booked within 6 months of the initial booking date.

We must be notified at least 14 days before your visit of any significant changes in group numbers. Confirmed bookings may be subject to the full cost of a booking if you fail to notify us, in writing, of any significant decrease in numbers within 14 days of your visit, including unrequired workshops and additional activities due to reductions in numbers. Groups visiting the National Space Centre will sign on arrival to confirm the number of attendees on the day. By signing the receipt, the group is liable for the full cost of confirmed participants.

Please call us as soon as possible on 0116 258 2111. Programmes arranged during your visit run to a tight schedule and cannot be delayed, and so it is vital your group arrives as close to the informed time to ensure a smooth schedule. Under these circumstances, we aim to be as accommodating as possible, and will look to re-work your schedule, however our ability to do so is subject to our own availability and your arrival time, and therefore may not be possible.

Please email us at [email protected] with your groups full details, as we require this confirmation in writing. If your visit is outside of the 14-day cancellation period, there are no conditions of cancellation. If you are within the 14-day cancellation period, you will be subject to the full cost of the booked visit, for both cancellation and postponement. This cost is redeemable against another visit, within 12 months of your original visit date.

Most school groups are invoiced the day after the event for the full remaining balance of the visit/programme. Invoices are payable within 30 days of the date of issue. Cheques should be made payable to ‘NSSC Operations Ltd’.

Late payment incurs interest, chargeable at 8% a month.

Uniformed groups, international groups and groups with previous bad credit history with us are required to pay in advance or upon arrival.

The group leader, by signing and returning their group’s visit letter, takes all responsibility for the behaviour and discipline of their group. ALL STUDENTS MUST BE SUPERVISED AT ALL TIMES WHILE IN THE NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE. Any costs incurred as a result of malicious damage will be the responsibility of the school or group leader.

We recommend (Adult:Child):

1:3 For children under 4

1:5 For children up to year 4

1:10 For year 5+

1:8 For uniformed groups.

Participants with additional needs that require extra adult support must inform us while booking. Additional adults beyond booking ratios that are not 1:1 support will be charged at the child rate cost. TetraStar Space missions require at least two of the supervising adults to be present during the activity.

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to store school bags and coats. We are, however, able to store your lunch bags in cages, provided for each school upon arrival and kept until your allocated lunch slot and departure. All items are left at the owner’s risk, and the National Space Centre accepts no responsibility for loss or damage to property left in this area. Please keep valuable items with you. Should you require space to store accessibility equipment, such as wheelchairs, please let us know.

Please contact the bookings team via phone at 0116 258 2111 or email at [email protected] to enquire about what we may be able to offer for you upon your visit. For accessibility information for the centre, please visit our accessibility page.

We offer two pre-visit tickets to teachers and recommend that at least one accompanying teacher visits the National Space Centre before your group visits. These visits are free to teachers who have a confirmed school booking, and must be booked in advance. Proof of identification from your school is required for both teachers upon arrival; pre-visit tickets are for school teachers only and not family or friends.