Lincoln Cathedral ‘employs’ youngest ever workforce as school children take part in Takeover Day
59 year six pupils from Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School were given an insight into the working world on Friday as Lincoln Cathedral became their employer for Takeover Day.
Organised by Kids in Museums, an independent charity dedicated to making museums open and welcoming to all families, the national event gives children an insight into meaningful roles at museums, galleries, arts organisations, archives and heritage sites across the country by giving them the opportunity to work alongside staff and volunteers.
The students, aged 10-11, got a taste of what a day-in-the-life of various roles are like, including project designers, visitor experience officers, curators, exhibition designers and media crews.
Since Takeover Day was launched in 2010, nearly 30,000 children and young people have taken part. The event in Lincoln was shared by the Cathedral, the Castle and The Collection, where children rotated throughout the day.
The Cathedral’s takeover was facilitated by the Lincoln Cathedral Connected team thanks to funding received from the National Lottery. Lincoln Cathedral Connected is a Heritage Lottery Funded project with the aim to improve the Cathedral’s setting and visitor experience.
Sally Bleasdale, education outreach officer at Lincoln Cathedral, said: “Takeover Day is all about inspiring young people and getting them interested in roles within the culture and heritage industry. Lincoln has such a rich history and is the perfect place to host an event like this.
“The children had an incredible chance to see what it would really be like to work at the Cathedral and it was great to see how engaged and excited they all were.
“We were able to show them how rewarding this line of work can be and that although working life can be a challenge, when you do something you love it’s all worth it.”
Duncan Scott, teacher at Sir Francis Primary School, said: “We felt it was fantastic for children to have this experience as many of them thrived in the working environments they were presented with dealing with members of the public. Giving the children this opportunity enabled them to get a feel for working in the real world. It was great to listen to pupils explaining some of the more unique features of the Cathedral and dealing with customers in the shop. They came back to school buzzing wanting to share their experiences.”
