The students were awarded the Lord Lieutenant Community Engagement Award for their work with the Higgin Museum in Bedford, where they are creating a self-led trail for schoolchildren.

The museum will be able to increase its capacity for schools visits due to the new trail, while the students have been able to gain experience working with children in an alternative setting.

The students involved are Sophie Adams, Nazmin Begum, Victoria Clarke, Charlotte Cross, Vanessa Eyo, Sarah Foster, Alysia Jacobs-Stocks, Chloe Johnson, Vissana Lleshi, Eve Michaelides, Charlotte Moseley, Christina Peters, Manuella Taborda Bohorquez, Molly Webber, Holly Williams and Louise Woodward.

Vice Lord-Lieutenant Colonel Colin Mason OBE, who presented the award to the students, said: “It was a pleasure and a delight to represent HM Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Helen Nellis and present the Lord-Lieutenant’s Community Engagement Award to a group of such inspiring and dynamic students.

“The Lord-Lieutenant’s passion and continuing support for this particular award stems from her time as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University and I share her pride of the University and all that it has achieved over the years as an educational institution in the county.”

The students’ tutor, Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education Mieka Harris, nominated her students for the award to recognise their excellent work.

“The students have been inspirational in their enthusiasm and understanding of both the organisation and their task. The resource they are putting together will be ideal to use with lots of our school groups and I am impressed by how quickly and comprehensively the students understood our design brief,” said Mieka.

The University’s Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell said: “We are immensely proud of our Primary Years Education students for their excellent work with the Higgins Museum. Not only are they gaining valuable work experience from the project, but they are also helping a local community partner in producing a much-needed resource that will benefit hundreds of local schoolchildren, now and for years to come.”

The Lord Lieutenant Community Engagement Award is presented every year to recognise, promote and celebrate the work of individual students or groups of students who have made a tangible and outstanding contribution to communities within Bedfordshire and have advanced the mission and values of the University.