Conisbrough Castle scoops education award

Conisbrough Castle, visited by more than 10,000 youngsters each year, has been awarded the Sandford Award for Heritage Education.

Matthew Lester, education visits officer for the north at English Heritage said: “We are delighted that the judges recognise our schools offer at Conisbrough Castle has been enhanced by the 2014 HLF Project and revised programme.

“This is a fantastic endorsement of the hard work that goes into education and its delivery by our dedicated site team and volunteers.”

Young visitors to the imposing castle can go on expert-led discovery visits, or take advantage of free self-led school visits.

Both initiatives are linked closely to learning objectives within the national curriculum.

Matthew added: “We have worked closely with local schools to develop the programme and we also attract education visits from all over the north.”

The judges were impressed that the content and purpose of each session is clearly explained to pupils at the start of sessions.

It was another major plus point that discovery visits serve the current national curriculum requirements well, and that sessions offer a variety of activities and equipment that would not be available in school.

The judges said that Conisbrough Castle is: “A surprising gem of a site, which combines evocative and intriguing structural remains of an impressive castle, and an imaginative and carefully designed education programme, that is an example of what can be done through the combined efforts of the staff, volunteers and the community.”

The Sandford Award is an independently judged, quality-assured assessment of education programmes at heritage sites, museums, archives and collections across the British Isles.