Marsh Charitable Trust – Marsh Award for Work Experience Student of the Year

Marsh Award for Work Experience Student of the Year

This Award that is run in partnership with the Museum of London recognises a student who has shown dedication, enthusiasm and progression during their work experience placement at the Museum.

The Museum of London offers work experience placements for young people ages 14-18 through partnerships with local state schools. The work experience placements involve a range of activities and provide a general overview of the workings of a museum across a variety of departments.

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Hamza 2026

Hamza made a strong and positive impression during their five-day work experience placement in January 2026. Hamza approached the week with an open mind, embraced every opportunity to learn and engaged fully with both staff and fellow students. Hamza developed valuable communication skills and demonstrated a natural aptitude for front-of-house work during their time shadowing the Visitor Experience Hosts at the Museum. Hamza worked collaboratively with other students to design and deliver an engaging tour of the gallery spaces and presented it in an entertaining and informative way, which attracted the attention of members of the public, many of whom suggested the Museum should employ Hamza in the future. Throughout the week, Hamza showed a real curiosity about how the Museum works from a Visitor Experience perspective and demonstrated a growing understanding of how Visitor Experience contributes to the overall visitor journey and to the museum’s wider goals. Hamza was a proactive and collaborative member of the team and showed confidence in asking for support and engaging positively with new tasks.

Previous Winners

Tharah

Tharah made a strong impression during her work experience placement, particularly through her collaboration on a young person’s tour of Sailor Town. She helped keep the project focused and responded thoughtfully to feedback, showing a growing awareness of how to engage audiences. The task deepened her appreciation of the museum and helped build her confidence in public speaking. She spent time with the Visitor Experience team, observing how staff welcome and support visitors, and assisted in the Mudlarks gallery, where she confidently scanned tickets and supported families throughout the session. Her calm and helpful presence contributed to a positive visitor experience. Tharah showed genuine interest in museum work, asking insightful questions and engaging meaningfully with a London Collection Bursary student in the Port and River Archive. Her curiosity reflected a desire to understand the wider context of her role and explore future career pathways. When faced with a last-minute timetable change, Tharah adapted with enthusiasm, choosing to shadow Learning Volunteers at the Family Desk. She listened attentively and even led a school group to the lunchroom which marked a clear step forward in her confidence and independence. Throughout the week, Tharah was punctual, organised and professional, leaving a lasting impression on staff and fellow students.

Fida

Fida has been attending the Museum on work experience one morning a week during term time since April 2024. He has never missed a session and is always on time, bringing enthusiasm and a positive attitude to his work. He has been able to volunteer in a number of teams at the Museum and visitors have appreciated the warm welcome that he provides. Fida wears his volunteer t-shirt with pride and is committed to completing any job he is given to the highest possible standard. Thanks to the success of Fida’s placement, the Museum will be looking to provide further work experience placements to students at his college, giving more young people with additional needs the opportunity to work at the Museum. Fida has an excellent attitude to learning new skills and staff have said he is a pleasure to work with.

Mir

Mir completed his work experience in the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology and, while there, learnt important skills about how to manage a museum collection and how to share the information that the collections can provide. He engaged well with other work experience students and staff in the Centre and felt confident enough to ask questions to further develop his knowledge and make the most out of his time at the Centre. Mir showed a genuine interest in the collection and promoted the museum with a positive attitude when speaking about his work experience, even asking to continue volunteering when the programme came to an end. In a relatively short time, Mir was able to accomplish an understanding of the sensitive considerations when working with the collection and an appreciation of how even small tasks are important components of managing a collection. He was curious about the past, engaged, motivated and a great role model for his school.

Olivia

Olivia took part in the museum’s 2 month work experience programme, attending every Friday. She was always on time (if not early!) and forged friendly and professional relationships quickly with those who she came into contact with. Olivia approached every task she was given with enthusiasm, event those that were outside the initial remit of her placement. After showing an interest in the digital marketing for the museum, Olivia worked in a focused way to provide feedback to staff on marketing for children’s birthday parties at the museum and ultimately assisted in improving the publicity of these events. She was well organised and committed to her placement and showed a great attitude towards trying new things, despite the nervousness that she felt in the first instance. Olivia was able to practise the skills that she was passionate about, but had not yet had professional experience of and has been encouraged to now seek paid employment with the Museum of London.