STUDENTI ITALIANI AT KENWOOD

For the last five years, groups of Italian school students have been volunteering at Kenwood. Volunteer manager Michelle Cook and volunteer Thomas Cattaneo share their experiences.

As a free-to-enter site with a world-class art collection and a diverse historic landscape, Kenwood relies heavily on volunteer support, and nearly 400 people give their time to help. Intensive volunteering allows us to reach beyond ‘business as usual’ to deliver an even richer offer for visitors and the community, and since 2018, groups of Italian students have been joining our volunteer community to play their part – and to gain valuable experience along the way.

The students join the explainer team for up to one month to improve their English and gain experience in tourism and retail.

A new perspective

In 2022, the students helped us through a challenging time after reopening when we were still redeploying and recruiting volunteers postpandemic. Ten students contributed 800 hours over seven weeks. Lisa, a session leader, said: ‘It’s a pleasure to welcome the Italian students. They bring new perspectives, enthusiasm and energy.’

This year, we asked the volunteers to write and deliver a tour of Kenwood in their native language for other young Italians. We gave them our Highlights Tour framework in English as a starting point, and encouraged them to be creative in their approach, using the reference library and speaking to other volunteers to build a narrative which would engage their audience.

Helping us to build a better offer

Welcoming the students brings so many benefits. It supports us to adapt how we work and pushes us to try new things. We love the energy and perspectives the students bring. Thank you to everyone who has made this partnership so successful. ►

Iam a student at an Italian school named Istituto Marcelline Tommaseo, located in Milan, Italy. In my country, to gain access to our high-school final exam, we must complete a curriculum based on a number of hours of volunteering. Luckily for me, my school offered me the possibility of carrying out my volunteering in a wonderful city like London. I was chosen, along with two of my classmates, to volunteer for three weeks at Kenwood, a neoclassical house located on the edge of Hampstead Heath.

What to expect?

In the beginning I felt bewildered by the extraordinary beauty of the building and the enormous gardens that stretched in every direction. I had never seen such a place before. I was volunteering in September but I would have liked to have seen them in spring when they were in bloom. None of us knew what to expect and we weren’t sure that we were sufficiently up to the task. Normally students are assigned volunteering in shops or offices so our experience was unusual.

Settling in

However, we had little to worry about as it became clear that the staff and volunteers at Kenwood had everything under control and were used to welcoming new volunteers like ourselves. We received a warm welcome from the volunteer manager, Michelle, who guided us through Kenwood and explained what our duties would be. The concern of having to learn all the information regarding Kenwood and its contents by heart quickly vanished as Michelle assured us that we would remember the details over time.

In the first week, several presentations were given from staff about their jobs, which was really interesting and helped us to understand what volunteering for English Heritage really means. During the evening,

Get In Touch

If youʼve been inspired to join the Kenwood volunteer team, please get in touch. Email kenwood.volunteering@english-heritage.org.uk we were assigned rooms together with other already experienced volunteers. I immediately perceived a strong sense of duty and professionalism which felt almost contagious. By shadowing other volunteers, incredibly and inexplicably after a few hours we felt ready to present the first paintings.

After a week we had almost all of the information in mind and after two we were able to cover different rooms by ourselves. We learned how to guide people through Kenwood and hold people’s attention, and our communication skills improved greatly. For me, as a foreigner, it was also an opportunity to significantly improve my English and pronunciation, expand my vocabulary and of course my knowledge of art.

Gainsborough, Reynolds, Constable and Vermeer, whose paintings can be found at Kenwood, together with the other volunteers and staff, helped me to improve myself as a person and learn new skills.

Plenty of support

What really reassured us during our training and the experience was the constant presence of Michelle, always kind and available in case of doubts or uncertainties. Each one of the volunteers had different skills, different problems and different opinions and she was able to bring out the best in all of us. She truly was an inspiration to all as everyone knew they could count on her.

At the end of this unforgettable experience, I am grateful to all the people who taught me the deep values of volunteering and showed how fun it can really be. I tried something new, got out of my comfort zone and it was amazing.

Since the end of the experience, I now suggest volunteering to others to try new experiences. Perhaps it might be at Kenwood, perhaps not, but the experience will always be worth the try as everyone can always gain new skills and learn something new. ■

WHAT’S NEXT?

English Heritage is currently piloting work experience programmes for under 16s. We plan to have the framework, tools and resources ready for 2024.

WE DID IT!