Pollok staff are top of their class

Friday 8 April 2011

Pollok staff are top of their class

Volunteer staff at Pollok House have been recognised with an award for their educational work with children.

TV host Loyd Grossman presented them with a prestigious Sandford Award at the Palace of Westminster.

The historic, Georgian house, which sits in Glasgow’s Pollok Park, has been honoured by the Heritage Education Trust for its educational programmes.

Education volunteers at the house help children learn about history through role play and dressing up in period costume. Loyd presented the award to Pollok House education volunteers, Nan and Graham Steel. The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Berlow, also praised the education programme in his speech. The Sandford Awards, run by the Heritage Education Trust, recognise the quality of educational facilities at historic sites. Other historic buildings which have received Sandford Awards include Glamis Castle, Windsor Castle, Culzean Castle and the Tower of London. Pollok House is the ancestral home of the Maxwell family. The present house dates from around 1750 and contains one of the finest collections of Spanish art in the United Kingdom together with furniture and furnishings appropriate to an Edwardian country house. It is run by the National Trust for Scotland on behalf of Glasgow City Council. Councillor Alex Glass, Chairman of the Pollok House Joint Committee, said: “It is great to see the volunteers receive such prestigious recognition. They are a very dedicated group and there are many children who recall their visit to Pollok House many years later because of the impact the volunteers have in making history come to life for the children.” Dr Joe Murray, Learning Officer at Pollok House, said: “We’re very proud to receive this award. We get very good feedback from the children who take part in our education programme. They all enjoy it and we get lots of nice thank-you cards.”

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