Over the past three weeks, City & Guilds of London Art School has been delighted to partner with the Commonwealth Heritage Forum and Wentworth Woodhouse to deliver the 2026 Commonwealth Summer School. The programme brought together 24 students from 12 Commonwealth countries for an intensive three-week programme focused on developing practical heritage and conservation skills, while building international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
The Summer School has been delivered by the Commonwealth Heritage Forum and City & Guilds of London Art School since 2024, with the aim of addressing the global skills and knowledge gap in heritage construction, conservation and restoration across the Commonwealth. For the first time, the Summer School was delivered across two locations. Students began the programme at City & Guilds of London Art School in London, where they received specialist workshop based teaching in traditional craft and conservation techniques, before spending the final two weeks at Wentworth Woodhouse in Rotherham, applying learning through hands on conservation work.
Dr Lois Rowe, Principal of City & Guilds of London Art School, said: “This was the first time the course has been delivered across two locations. Students spent their first week doing skills training with us at the Art School in London, before going on to Wentworth Woodhouse for two weeks working on a live project to put that knowledge and expertise into practice.”
Throughout the programme, participants developed practical skills in areas including woodcarving, joinery and the preparation and use of lime render, lime plaster and limecrete. Working in the Art School’s specialist workshops and at Wentworth Woodhouse, students were taught by experienced practitioners and gained experience of both traditional craftsmanship and contemporary conservation practice.
Following their week at the Art School, participants travelled to Wentworth Woodhouse for two weeks of live conservation training. Working alongside conservation specialists, students applied the techniques they had developed in London to an ongoing restoration project at the Grade I listed site. Participants learned how to work with lime mortar, repair 250 year old stonework and conserve sash windows. They also contributed to the cleaning of an 18th-century Italian marble statue of Germanicus in the mansion’s Pillared Hall, using conservation techniques to remove environmental damage.
Dr Lois Rowe, Principal of City & Guilds of London Art School, said: ““We wanted to give students the experience of working on a live project at a heritage site and identified Wentworth Woodhouse as an ideal location. It is one of the largest and most architecturally significant country houses in England, a major example of 18th-century design and craftsmanship. In addition, its ongoing restoration calls on a really wide range of heritage skills and expertise, many of which are now in short supply not only in the UK but around the world. It posed many interesting hands-on learning opportunities for our students, and also meant our programme could do something meaningful and worthwhile for this great house.”
Alongside practical training, the Summer School encouraged participants to share ideas, discuss the conservation projects they are undertaking in their own countries and learn from one another’s experiences, creating opportunities for international knowledge exchange throughout the programme. The Commonwealth Heritage Forum awarded full bursaries to all 24 participants, covering course fees, accommodation, travel, visa costs and a living stipend. These bursaries enabled heritage practitioners from across the Commonwealth to take part in a programme combining specialist teaching at the Art School with live conservation experience at Wentworth Woodhouse.
One participant Brenda Nyangoma is currently Lead Architect on conservation projects in Fort Portal City, Western Uganda, including the restoration of the Karambi Royal Tombs, about the Summer School she said: “I needed to strengthen my hands-on craft skills in traditional building techniques and being at Wentworth Woodhouse has been the best two weeks of my career. I got to be involved in conserving heritage on a giant scale. Learning about lime mortar and how a stone wall is preserved simply by choosing this material was the most fascinating aspect. I am worried that heritage skills will die out in my country if we don’t do something. I am going home with more knowledge and determination to support these skills at conservation projects across Uganda and East Africa.”
The skills and knowledge developed through the Summer School will support participants in their work to care for and preserve historic buildings and sites in their own countries, particularly as heritage practitioners respond to the additional challenges posed by climate change and the loss of traditional skills. We would like to thank the Commonwealth Heritage Forum, Wentworth Woodhouse, our staff, tutors and partners, and above all the students whose enthusiasm, skill and commitment made this year’s Commonwealth Summer School such a success.