Jersey Heritage has won the prestigious Sandford Award for Heritage Education for the programme it delivers to schoolchildren visiting Mont Orgueil.

The charity’s Education team were assessed for the national award on-site at the Castle earlier this year. They achieved the top rating across the board for what the judges describe as “exciting and inspirational” visits to the Island’s medieval castle.

The Sandford Awards have been a mark of quality for heritage learning since 1978 and are run by the Heritage Education Trust together with Bishop Grosseteste University. They provide validation for heritage organisations across the British Isles that offer a formal learning programme which supports the curriculum.

The 2024 award recipients have been announced this week and other recipients include Bletchley Park; Fishbourne Roman Palace; Whitby Abbey, English Heritage; and the Royal Collection Trust, Windsor Castle. Jersey Heritage already has the award for its education programme at La Hougue Bie, which it achieved in 2020.

Jon Brennan, Jersey Heritage’s Head of Education, said: ““The Sandford Award is a recognised standard in heritage learning and we are very proud to receive this national accolade for our education programme at Mont Orgueil. It is a wonderful acknowledgement of the hard work and effort our team put into ensuring school visits to Mont Orgueil are educational but also fun and inspiring for the children. We add the award to the one we already have for La Hougue Bie and will be aiming to achieve the same level of recognition for the education programmes we deliver at our other historic sites, such as Hamptonne.”

Among the criteria for achieving a Sandford Award is ensuring that a learning programme is delivered in a way that engages, informs and inspires visitors, and that it contributes to an understanding of the local/ national heritage or the natural environment.

In summarising Jersey Heritage’s success in winning the Sandford Award, Lead Assessor Robin Clutterbuck said: “Mont Orgueil Castle stands on a steep crag on the eastern short of Jersey, just nine miles from the French coast. The local, national and international significance of this fortress… is huge. The education service makes use of experiential approaches, helped by the castle itself which eloquently tells it own story of invasion, siege, defensive design and living conditions. Under the control of the Jersey Heritage Trust, the education service has excellent links with all the schools on the island and is able to offer free educational visits, even including the programmed activities. Jersey is justly proud of its castle, and its schools can be proud of the exciting and inspirational visits available to them there.”

The Jersey Heritage Education team will receive their Sandford Award at a special ceremony held at Historic Royal Palaces at Kensington Palace in December 2024.