Norwich Castle Museum praised for inspiring young people

The way history is brought to life for young visitors to Norwich Castle has scooped the museum a prestigious award.

The museum has been handed a Sandford Award for Heritage Education by judges who praised it as an inspiring place for children to learn, with excellent education work.

The Sandford Award, which began in 1978 and is made annually, is an independently judged, quality assured assessment of education programmes at heritage sites, museums, archives and collections across the British Isles.

Judges carried out on-site inspections and assessed the museum's learning programmes against a number of criteria.

Two learning programmes 'Storming the Castle' and a specially designed Olympic session 'Gold, Silver and Bronze' were assessed.

'Storming the Castle', aimed at children in Key Stage 3 focuses on maths, with youngsters asked to imagine the castle is under siege and then answer a range of questions such as how long water supplies would last, how many arrows would be needed to defend it and which weapons would be most effective.

The 'Gold, Silver and Bronze' session is run by an ex-gold prospector and covers elements of the English, history and geology curricula.

Children think about why certain metals are valued and why gold is the most sought after. with the museum's Iceni jewellery forming a focus for learning.

The Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, near Dereham, also earned a Sandford Award.

Barry Stone, Norfolk County Council's cabinet member for cultural services, said: 'The announcement of these awards is fantastic news and are a testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of staff at the museums.

'The sites provide a wonderful service to children and adults alike and we hope that this positive news will encourage more people to visit.'

• Do you have an education story? Call Norwich Evening News education reporter Victoria Leggett on 01603 772468 or email victoria.leggett@archant.co.uk