Preparing for your education visit

Free familiarisation visit

Once you have booked your trip you are entitled to a free familiarisation visit to the zoo (one teacher per class).

We strongly recommend this to help you plan your day. Please email [email protected] quoting your 7-digit Order Number to book this.

Free pre-visit consultation

Once you have booked your trip you are entitled to a free pre-visit consultation with a member of our learning team. These are 20 minute meetings which take place online via Microsoft Teams. These are available to any group who have booked a trip with us, but are particularly recommended for those: 

• Who are unable to attend a pre-trip visit
• Who are bringing a large group
• Have students with complex needs

We recommend booking this for a date that is 2-3 weeks before your visit.

Please ensure you book a time that you are able to attend, and let us know if your availability changes. The enables us to give slots to other schools who may need a consultation, and ensures both zoo and school time can be used efficiently. 

All trips must be paid for at least two weeks in advance via BACS or credit/debit card. Details of how to pay can be found on your booking confirmation email. We do not accept cash or cheques, nor can payment be made on the day or after a trip. Visitor numbers cannot be changed once payment is made. We do not offer refunds for any students or paying adults who are unable to attend on the day.

If the group have not paid for their trip by the date of their visit, the debt owed will be passed on to our finance team who will generate a new invoice which will be sent to the school. This will include an additional £25 administration fee. ZSL reserves the right to cancel or refuse entry to any group who have not paid in advance of their trip nor made prior arrangement with ZSL to pay after the visit/activity.

Prices and full terms and conditions of educational rate tickets can be found here:

Education visit prices  Terms and Conditions for Education Visits

You can find our risk assessment guides and other health & safety information to help you plan for your visit here:

Education Visit Health & Safety

If you have a smartphone, we recommend you download the London Zoo app to help you navigate the zoo on the day.

App features

• A 'Plan' feature which allows you to save your planned animals, habitats and other locations in sequence
• Real time GPS navigation to help you find your way around the zoo
• A live schedule of our daily animal talks

London Zoo app

Coach Travel

Due to the size of our car park, we are unable to offer coach parking. Coaches are able to drop off and pick up from the car park, but will then need to park elsewhere.  Please ensure your coach company is aware. More information on our car park can be found here

Public Transport

Please see our complete guide on finding your way to the zoo by public transport:

DIRECTIONS TO LONDON ZOO

• The school entrance used on each day is based on how many visitors we are anticipating
• On busier days (especially in Summer Term) we may proactively switch to a dedicated school entrance to help facilitate groups to have a smooth & stress-free entry into the zoo.
• When you arrive you'll be directed to the entrance we are using that day - all are close to each other - and the school entrance will be clearly signposted.
• Although we can't tell you in advance which entrance we will be using on the day of your visit, all entrances are near to Barclay Court and so we advise you to plan your day to start from there. This is a nice open space and the best place to sort your groups and start your day.
• On arrival our team will guide you and your group to Barclay Court.
• Alternative entrances will be open during the mornings only, when most schools arrive. If you arrive later than midday, please head to the main zoo entrance.
• If you are a specialist SEND school bringing a small group of students and intend to use the blue badge parking outside the main zoo entrance, you are still welcome to use the main entrance if you feel that will be better for your group.

Security & Bag Checks

At all entrances, our security team will be operating bag checks ahead of entry. Please ensure your supervising adults are on hand to help them to get their bags open and ready for our security team to check them.

London Zoo Schools Map

Recommended Lunch stops

We do not have a bookable lunch space, there are a number of areas around the zoo where groups can sit to eat lunches that they have brought with them, which are marked on the schools map.  

10% discount for teaching staff at catering outlets

Any teachers and teaching assistants visiting with educational tickets can also get 10% off food and drink in our catering outlets. Simply show your booking confirmation when you pay.

Toilets

We have a number of toilets around the zoo, as well as a Changing Places facility in our Animal Adventure space. You can find more details on toilets in our schools map below.

Potential Quieter areas

We recognise that some groups or children may need an area to chill out away from others, so we have highlighted areas we find are best for this on the schools map.

We have three coloured zones at London Zoo:

• Pink includes: giraffes, zebras, African wild dogs, Rainforest Life, pygmy hippos, lemurs, otters, and meerkats.
• Blue is the shortest route and includes western lowland gorillas, tigers, capybara, the Reptile House and Komodo dragon.
• Orange includes: lions, penguins, butterflies, squirrel monkeys and Tiny Giants.

We recommend splitting into smaller groups and picking two routes for each group, stopping for lunch halfway.

To help navigate on the day, we recommend you download the London Zoo app. The app allows you to save your favourite animals into a planned route, navigate around the zoo via GPS and see live talk times throughout the day.

London Zoo App

Bookable education activities

A range of bookable educational activities can be found on the link below. Please note many are only available at certain times of the day and/or year.

Bookable education activities

Daily talks

You can find times for talks and animal feedings below. Please note these are subject to change. Please check the What's On board as you arrive at the zoo for any changes to the schedule.

daily talks at london zoo

Teaching resources

If you're looking for inspiration to extend your learning while at the zoo, you can find a host of teaching resources at the link below.

Teaching resources

You can find visual and sensory stories for London Zoo, as well as more information on accessibility at the link below.

supporting students with send