Amersham Museum has been recognised for its education programmes.

The museum, in the High Street, has been given the 2020 Sandford Award for education.

The prestigious award recognises high-quality formal education programmes run at heritage sites across Britain.

It has been running since 1978 and is the only such award to provide independent quality assurance of formal education run in museums and heritage sites.

Amersham runs a formal education programme for schools and uniformed groups, which take place both in the museum and delivered in schools.

During the pandemic, the museum has been sending out loan boxes to schools and delivering remote sessions.

Judges said the museum is a “fantastic community resource which offers a professional, engaging learning programme”.

They added: “Its particular strength is a focus on local history using archive material and objects to explain the development of Amersham over time.

“The museum staff have developed a fantastic relationship with local schools which is reflected in the number of repeat visits and strength of the programme.”

Emily Toettcher, the museum’s curator, said: “Our amazing team of volunteers and freelancers have helped to make this possible and we’re really grateful for their support, particularly in such challenging times.”