BEESTON Castle has been rewarded for the high quality of its school visits.

The historic attraction is one of 24 English Heritage sites to be awarded the new Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge.

The award recognises the excellent facilities and resources available there.

The awards scheme is designed to help teachers identify venues to take their students for a learning experience.

English Heritage’s head of education and interpretation Sandra Stancliffe said: “English Heritage’s educational visits are among the most comprehensive in the country, and we welcome tens of thousands of children to our sites each year.

“This award provides national recognition for the work our site staff and education experts have put in to create resources and plans so teachers and pupils can cover many different areas of the curriculum in a fun way.

“Above all, as teachers try and keep the costs of trips down at the moment to ease pressures on parents, schools can visit and access teaching resources for any English Heritage site free of charge.”

The awards are granted by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom and form part of a campaign for more teaching to take place outside the formal teaching environment.

“We all remember our school trips, and research shows just how rewarding educational visits can be”, explained Sandra.

“Children tend to retain to a far greater degree what they learn when they are in this kind of fun but stimulating environment, and this award recognises the work we have put in the simplify the whole visit process.”