Museum Awards

Leicestershire County Council’s Museum Service has scooped no less than 12 awards over the last two years for its commitment to excellence in museums and heritage.

In September 2010, Leicestershire County Council’s museums enjoyed great success at the Renaissance East Midlands Regional Heritage Awards, and this continued with the museums claiming no less than four awards at the East Midlands Tourism Enjoy England Excellence Awards 2010/2011.

Leicestershire County Council’s Museums have won more awards than any other museums service in the East Midlands, and quite possibly, the rest of the UK too.

The East Midlands Tourism Awards, which have been received by Bosworth Battlefield, Snibston and Harborough Museum, are designed to identify the very best of the region’s tourism businesses and set a benchmark to which the rest of the East Midlands tourism industry can aspire.

All of the council’s Museums are accredited by the MLA and VAQAS, acknowledging the high standards of visitor experience and museums standards that LCC adheres to.

Bosworth Battlefield, Snibston Discovery Museum, Charnwood Museum and Donington le Heath Manor House have all been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge for their education provisions. The Badge is a nationally recognised benchmark that is awarded to organisations which have pledged to engage in an ongoing process to sustain good-quality and safe learning outside the classroom.

Snibston Discovery Museum won the Gold Enjoy England Excellence Award Think Family Award that recognises commitment to providing an engaging and welcoming family environment and also the Silver Award in the Access for All category for the site’s exceptional accessibility.

Of significant interest is Snibston’s success under the Arts and Business Jaguar Land Rover Awards back in October. Firstly awarded the ‘Best Museum and Business Partnership’ Award for its work in preserving the Hemington timbers with British Sugar, it was then crowned Champion of Champions for the very same partnership.

Snibston has also gained critical success in 2010 with the East Midlands Heritage Award 2010 for work with children and young people and the NWLDC Green Footprints Challenge Children and Young People 2010 for its Snibston Young Rangers project.

Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre won the Gold Award two years in a row for Best Small Visitor Attraction at the East Midlands Tourism Awards for Excellence, which recognises commitment to delivering an excellent visitor experience.

The Heritage Centre was also chosen as the winner for the national Classic Award at the Museums and Heritage Awards for Excellence, beating stiff competition including the Cabinet War Rooms and National Museums Liverpool. These awards aim to recognise and celebrate best practice in the world of museums, galleries and heritage visitor attractions today, and the Classic Award looks particularly at the ongoing vibrancy and relevance of a museum over the last ten years.

In addition Bosworth won Best Visitor Experience in the East Midlands at the Renaissance East Midlands Heritage Awards, which was chosen by East Midlands Tourism.

Harborough Museum has also achieved great success, clocking up a number of awards for the exceptional visitor experience on offer, including the Renaissance East Midlands Heritage Awards, where the museum was Highly Commended for Best Exhibition for The Hallaton Treasure gallery. Harborough also took the Silver at the East Midlands Tourism Excellence Awards 2010 for Best Small Visitor Attraction.