A CORNWALL maritime museum has been praised for its educational work.

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth was awarded a Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge for the high learning environment it offers to school children around the county.

Stuart Slade, education manager at the Maritime Museum said: "The many Cornish schools that visit the Maritime Museum already know the types of high quality learning experiences we offer, but everyone here is thrilled to now have official recognition for all our efforts."

The Quality Badge was developed as part of the Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto, a national initiative to ensure young people are given more opportunities to have these experiences as part of the curriculum.

The scheme was developed by the Department for Children, Schools and Families under Labour as part of the Out and About package which, along with the badges, provides guidance and information for teachers on how to plan and organise high quality activities.

The badge is designed to make it easier for teachers to identify providers of quality educational visits.