Market Place welcomes schools for award winning Christmas Market tours

November 2016 sees the return of Market Place's award-winning Christmas Markets to a number of stunning locations and we would like to invite you to share this experience with us.

Market Place, operators of the Markets, are committed to helping to deliver educational opportunities, engaging students with our markets, making learning fun, memorable and enjoyable. Having received a national industry Award for Innovation for our educational tours, we are delighted to be able to offer your pupils the chance to take part in a tour this year.

Our tours will be available at the following Christmas Markets:

Belfast: Saturday 19th - Thursday 22nd December 2016

Exeter: Saturday 19th November - Sunday 18th December 2016 

Newcastle: Friday 18th November - Sunday 11th December 2016 

FREE tours for Primary School pupils will be hosted Monday to Wednesday (some locations also host tours on Thursdays) and will be running each week until mid December 2016. Tours are hosted and led by a Market Manager and include a guided walk around the market during which children will learn about the language, food and culture of the traders and the countries or regions they represent, with an opportunity to sample tasty food products along the way. The Christmas Markets include traders from dozens of countries and the experience can align to the curriculum in a whole range of ways including geography, math’s and modern foreign languages.

Educational tours are also supported by the Education Passport, a document full of fun facts, worksheets and information about the Exeter Christmas Market which will be available from early October 2016.

Due to the popularity of our tours, booking in advance is essential. Groups are responsible for organising and paying for transportation to and from the Markets. Each tour lasts approximately 1 hour 30 mins. 12-15 students is an ideal group size; however we are happy to accommodate school groups of up to 20 pupils if notified in advance.  We can also potentially split class groups into two tours to run on the same day without excelling number limit; note however that this is dependent on our market staff availability. Tours run daily from 12 noon to 3.00pm and are allocated on a first come first served basis.

If you would like to book a tour please request a booking form by email to Market Place and return before Friday 11th November 2016. Please also state upon request, which Christmas Market you wish to attend. 

Belfast and Newcastle Competition!

In addition to our tours, we are delighted to once again be running a themed video competition which will offer one lucky class the opportunity to win an all expenses paid visit to the Belfast or Newcastle Christmas Market.

The winning class will be picked up by coach and taken to the Christmas Market where they will be given a tour followed by a private lunch and Belfast and Newcastle tours could win the chance to meet Santa in his magical Grotto!

This year’s theme is Eco Friendly Santa! This is because Market Place takes its responsibility to the environment very seriously. From recycling to noise pollution, power supply to lighting, the Belfast Market has won awards for its green credentials, including being awarded the “UK’s Greenest Market Award” by the National Market Traders Federation.

Taking part in the competition couldn’t be easier! Simply get your class together and make a short video to give Santa some ideas about how he can be more environmentally friendly! He has a bit of trouble with his carbon footprint with all that travelling around the world as well as the HUGE amount of work the Elves have to do in their workshop, so we’re sure your class can come up with some great ideas for him. 

Each video should be a maximum of two minutes long and must be submitted to Market Placeemma@marketplaceeurope.co.uk no later than Thursday 20^th October 2016. The winning class will be announced by the end of October. Remember, the more creative, the better!

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you soon.