Hinckley Times

Centre’s celebratin­g its double success

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMME

- By STAFF REPORTER

THE team at Leicester’s King Richard III Visitor Centre are celebratin­g two accolades.

Following an assessment carried out by VisitEngla­nd, the attraction has been recognised for its exceptiona­l customer service and the way the incredible story of King Richard III is told.

As part of the Visitor Attraction Quality Scheme, attraction­s are independen­tly visited by an experience­d quality assessor and the accolades celebrate excellence within the visitor attraction sector, showcasing businesses that “go the extra mile to provide a high-quality day out”.

Further good news came on Wednesday when, for the second time since its opening in 2014, the visitor centre received a Sandford Award for Heritage Education.

The Sandford Award is an independen­tly-judged, quality assured assessment of education programmes at heritage sites across the country, which focuses on education opportunit­ies and resources offered to schools, both digitally and on site.

Iain Gordon, general manager at the centre said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive two prestigiou­s accolades in one week.

“We love telling the incredible story of King Richard III at the visitor centre every day, with all our visitors, young, old and all ages in between.

“It is especially pleasing to receive

these two awards after our prolonged closure and they are welldeserv­ed by the fantastic team we have, who deliver an exceptiona­l experience.”

Examples of the visitor centre’s education programme were submitted, and the panel of judges carried out an online assessment. Judges were looking for an experience developed in consultati­on with profession­als, that engages visitors, promotes the understand­ing of local and national heritage, demonstrat­es good management of education visits and quality educationa­l resources and services, as well as providing good domestic facilities.

Lead judge Susan Walker said: “The King Richard III Visitor Centre continues to deliver excellent, high quality learning experience­s to all its young visitors. Discovery packs help children to explore the multisenso­ry exhibition while inspiratio­nal workshops provide exciting hands-on opportunit­ies to discover and consider the interdepen­dence of history, archaeolog­y and science in the fascinatin­g story of one of history’s controvers­ial kings.” City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “These awards are testament to the hard work and creativity of staff at the King Richard III Visitor Centre, who are constantly looking for new ways to provide a high quality, enjoyable experience to visitors of all ages.

“The centre has a unique role in telling the story of King Richard and his place in Leicester’s 2000 year history, and we are very proud of it.” For more informatio­n go to:

ACCOLADES FOR

These are testament to the hard work and creativity of staff at the King Richard III Visitor Centre City mayor

 ?? PA ?? AWARD-WINNING: One of the rooms in the centre which introduces visitors to key characters in Richard III’s early life
PA AWARD-WINNING: One of the rooms in the centre which introduces visitors to key characters in Richard III’s early life

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