There were smiles and cheers all round as Dorset’s Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum team collected the prestigious Sandford Award for Heritage Education 2019.
The team travelled to The Victoria & Albert Museum of Childhood in London for the prestigious awards evening. The quality mark award, from the Heritage Education Trust and Bishop Grosseteste University, recognises excellence in heritage education programmes.
Learning manager Anne Brown said: “We’re over the moon, we still can’t believe we have won this award for our learning programmes in our first year. We’ve had thousands of school and university students through the doors since we opened, and we have worked hard to create tailored sessions for schools. The volunteers and researchers have put so much time into this project, so it’s wonderful for them to receive this recognition – it’s a very collaborative process and I couldn’t be more delighted we have won.
“Creating the learning programme from scratch has been a fantastic and hugely rewarding challenge– there’s such a rich history at Shire Hall and we are discovering new stories all the time. This means our learning offer is constantly evolving and I can’t wait for schools to see what we have been working on.”
Shire Hall delivers a wide variety of programmes for schools to fit around different elements of the curriculum including History, Literacy, PSHE, SMSC British Values and creative activities. Programmes include workshops looking at individual child criminal case studies, Crime & Punishment, The Tolpuddle Martyrs, Victorian Life and Literature on Trial. The Sandford Award judges praised the team saying: “A visit to Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum is one children will long remember.”
For more information about the school sessions available at Shire Hall and how teachers can work with the team to deliver learning outcomes, call Anne Brown on 01305 261849 or email [email protected]
