More than 42,000 children will be able to visit Chester Zook for free as part of organised school trips

Chester Zoo’s wildlife education experts have released tens of thousands of free tickets exclusively to school groups.

More than 42,000 children will be able to visit the zoo for free as part of an organised educational visit between November 2019 – February 2020.

More tickets are available in 2019’s give-away than ever before, as the zoo scales up its efforts to inspire a nation of conservationists.

The vast ticket giveaway is part of the conservation charity’s annual education campaign to help prevent extinction – by empowering the nation’s young people and sparking a passion for saving species.

Charlotte Smith, Head of Discovery and Learning at Chester Zoo, said:

“A visit to the zoo can inspire those lifelong connections with nature that will help our society move towards a more sustainable future.

That is why we can and must engage more young people than ever before in our conservation mission here in the zoo.

“With one million species fighting extinction worldwide, every one of us needs to act for wildlife.

We absolutely know it’s not too late to solve this crisis.

We can help prevent extinction right now in our gardens and in the way we live our lives. Young people can inspire us; they can drive change in our society.

“As a conservation and education charity, we’re proud to be in a position to give more tickets away for free to school groups than we’ve ever done before.”

By the time this year’s allocation has been taken, more than 100,000 children will have benefited from the scheme since its inception in 2017.

The zoo is particularly encouraging schools who have not taken up the offer before to apply in 2019.

Places are available for pupils from reception age to year 13, for weekday visits between 1 November 2019 to 28 February 2020, during the Cheshire West and Chester region term time.

There is a maximum capacity of bookings per day to avoid overcrowding and ensure every child and visitor is able to enjoy the zoo.

School groups are advised to book early via: https://www.chesterzoo.org/schools/book-your-school-visit/

A range of in zoo workshops are available at an extra cost and free post-visit learning resources are also available for schools atwww.chesterzoo.org/education