Verulamium Museum wins award for schools learning programme

Verulamium Museum has just won a prestigious award celebrating the excellence of its heritage education programme for schools. The Sandford Award for heritage education excellence is presented annually to historic sites, museums, galleries, archives and collections. The award lasts for five years and follows an assessment of formal, curriculum-linked education opportunities offered to schools by heritage sites. This independently-judged, quality-assured assessment of education programmes is managed by the Heritage Education Trust, in partnership with Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln. Almost 500 sites – including historic houses, museums, galleries, places of worship, gardens, landscapes and collections – have received an award since the scheme began in 1978. Verulamium Museum is in good company. Other winners for 2017 include the British Motor Museum in Warwickshire, Jane Austen’s House Museum in Hampshire and Leeds Castle in Kent. The award follows a successful judging day at Verulamium Museum earlier in the summer. The visiting judge joined school children as they stepped back into Roman Britain for a range of engaging and informative sessions, praising the learning programme as ‘inspiringly taught’. Schools travel far and wide to Verulamium Museum, from across the Eastern region to take part in its learning programme which supports History curricula. The museum also welcomes groups studying Latin and Classics and runs a lively outreach service taking artefacts into schools. Cllr Annie Brewster, Sports and Culture Portfolio Holder for St Albans City and District Council, said: “This award recognises Verulamium Museum’s excellent heritage learning programme that is offered to schools. It is well deserved as the team at St Albans Museums work hard to make the sessions engaging and informative. “They are currently busy developing another exciting learning programme for schools that will run at the new museum and gallery opening in St Albans next year. Work to transform the old Town Hall in the centre of St Albans into a £7.75m new museum and art gallery is already underway. Once open, it will offer great opportunities for children to learn more about our wonderful heritage.” Schools interested in the learning programme at either museum can contact Eleanor Payne, St Albans  Museums Learning and Interpretation Officer on eleanor.payne@stalbans.gov.uk or 01727 751821. Further information about St Albans Museums service for schools is available at: http://www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/school/ To find out more about the exciting new museum and gallery project go to: http://www.stalbansmuseumsandgalleriestrust.org.uk.