Educational Program

40+ years’ experience

Primary & Secondary Educational Program School Excursions

Operating since 1978, The Rocks Walking Tours has long been providing students with educational tours of The Rocks. All tours are conducted in a safe and stimulating environment in this preserved 19th Century historical village. Our fully trained guides are ready to head your school around Sydney’s oldest neighbourhood, The Rocks.

Tour content is tailored to the current syllabus and focuses on the history and heritage of The Rocks, Millers Point and Circular Quay. These historically significant precincts provide a valuable outdoor educational experience that encourages ongoing learning about our fascinating past and present heritage.

To find out more about our Educational Program please complete our Educational Program Enquiry Form or Contact Us

Find all information about the booking process here.

What’s included

1.5hr or 2hr guided walking tour
Specialist trained guides
Guides have amplification for ease in hearing commentary
Aid of visuals for the students to compare the present to the past.
Pre tour notes

Bus Drop off and Pick up Location

Corner Lower Fort and George Streets, The Rocks

Tour Starting and Finishing Point

Rocks Square, Playfair Street, The Rocks.
It is advisable that you arrive at the bus drop off location a minimum of 20 minutes prior to the start time of the tour

Itinerary Outline

A Rocks Walking Tours representative will meet you at the bus drop of location and escort you to the tour starting point of Rocks Square
Students have the opportunity to use bathrooms and have morning tea before the start of the tour
Guides will arrive at Rocks Square before the start time of the tour to assist with dividing students into their groups to commence the tour

“And so the British Came”

Students explore The Rocks to examine European settlement in 1788, its causes and consequences, and the profound impacts of colonisation on Indigenous Australians, using place as a primary historical source.

A New Colony Begins

Students trace the arrival of the British fleet at Sydney Cove, exploring why a penal colony was established in New South Wales and the role of convict transportation. Through The Rocks’ historic streets and sites, students investigate early colonial life, convict experiences and first encounters with the Cadigal people, using maps, images and places as evidence of the first settlement.

Arrival of the First Fleet

Step back to 1788 and explore where British settlement in Australia began. On this guided walk through The Rocks and Sydney Cove, students discover the arrival of the First Fleet, the lives of convicts and settlers, and the early development of Sydney Town through stories, historic sites and the preserved heritage landscape.

Australia as a Nation

Students explore the history of Sydney’s oldest neighbourhood and investigate how the colony developed after 1788. Through historic sites, buildings and stories in The Rocks, they examine daily life in early Sydney, significant people and events, and how communities changed as Australia moved toward becoming a nation.

Beatie Bow’s Sydney

Students journey into Victorian Sydney through Ruth Park’s Playing Beatie Bow, exploring The Rocks as a living setting from 1873. By connecting story with place, they investigate daily life, community, and social conditions, deepening understanding of history through literature and the surviving streetscape.

History and Heritage

Students explore the history of The Rocks, Sydney’s earliest neighbourhood, as they walk through historic streets and laneways. Using stories, objects and real historic sites as evidence, they investigate how people lived, worked and communicated in the past.

The Green Bans of The Rocks

Students can learn about the 1970s Green Ban movement and how The Rocks became an important area of confrontation for local residents, union members, and government officials.

The Rocks at Federation

Students have the opportunity to relive the working and living conditions of an inner working-class suburb of Sydney while learning about the fervour of national pride.

The Way Life Was

Students discover what daily life was like in the 19th century in Sydney’s oldest neighbourhood, The Rocks. Through the area’s historic streets and sites, students explore how families lived, worked and played, gaining insight into the everyday experiences of the people who shaped early Sydney.