Over 100 primary school children will become the custodians of a 14th century heritage attraction in Coventry across two weekends after devising a masterplan of fun and activities.
Thanks to a Community Grant as part of a wider project supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, children from 11 primary schools in the city have collaborated with St Mary’s Guildhall.
The Coventry Young Ambassadors takeover day will enable the children to experience being tour guides, welcome hosts and playwrights at the historic hidden gem across two Saturdays this month and are making their final preparations before taking over the venue on the weekends of May 11 and 12 and May 18 and 19.
The Community Grant's objective is to ensure that St Mary's remains a central part of the local community while also boosting its reputation as an award-winning national and international visitor attraction.
As part of the Coventry Young Ambassadors programme, children aged seven to 11 have worked closely with guildhall staff in recent weeks to develop and plan their ideas for tours, quizzes and mini plays – with members of the public invited to come and see the exciting results.
To help them prepare, the ambassadors were invited to a tour of St Mary‘s Guildhall and learned about the range of jobs at the venue, as well as the importance of tourism, attracting visitors to the city centre and sharing the venue’s incredible history.
Some of the youngsters have even created a media campaign to encourage people throughout Coventry to visit during the takeover.
Niamh Carton, Community Engagement Manager at St Mary’s Guildhall, which is operated by No Ordinary Hospitality, said: “This is such a lovely project to be involved with and the enthusiasm from all of the children involved has been absolutely brilliant to see.
“It’s been a privilege to support these children as part of the Coventry Young Ambassadors programme and we are excited to see them bring their projects to life over the next couple of weeks.
“We hope that the experience of taking over the Guildhall will be exciting for the Young Ambassadors and hopefully foster a love of heritage and their local history.”
Rebecca Bollands, Deputy Head at Earlsdon Primary School and Coventry Young Ambassadors Lead Teacher, said: “The Coventry Young Ambassadors are an amazing group of 300 children from over 30 schools in the city. One of their aims is to promote the city and welcome visitors.
“The St Mary's Guildhall Takeover project has been fantastic as it has given them a sense of pride in their city and it has made them aware of the wide range of jobs involved in running a historic building.
“They are very excited about welcoming visitors to this beautiful building.”