My name is Carlo and I am a 17 year old student living in Germany. Being part of the English Major Class in my school, I was given the opportunity to do an internship in Britain.

I found out about Forty Hall, visited their website and was impressed by the various activities offered at this estate. My application was accepted, so I flew to London to work there for two weeks.

On my first day I was pretty nervous and excited when I stood at the entrance, but the staff were really friendly and welcoming so I felt like a real member of the team right from the beginning.

First they introduced and showed me the huge mansion with a temporary exhibition on felt. I was impressed by every room being set up like it would have looked like centuries ago, offering audio effects like the sound of a burning fireplace or a conversation at the dining table to underline the historical atmosphere.

In the next few days I learned how to open up the house to the public, make rooms ready for events like concerts, worked in the nicely decorated gift shop and helped with a huge variety of other useful things. Furthermore I frequently worked with the Educational & Learning Team designing a new trail for children, supporting in workshops and helping guide school classes visiting Forty Hall.

Another interesting aspect of my role was the box office system I was introduced to, because I got an overview of all the things happening “behind the scenes” like organising events or payments, which are invisible to the public.

In general my time at Forty Hall has been great and I did different, interesting tasks every day, which made the two weeks go by really quickly and gave me a lot of confidence. The atmosphere is comfortable and professional at the same time and it is also unbelievable to see how many motivated volunteers are spending their days working here without payment. I met friendly and interesting people every day and gained so much experience. It’s kind of strange to know tomorrow will be my last day here, because I am now used to the environment and have had a great time.

I can truly recommend Forty Hall as an amazing place to visit or even do a work experience because of its unique offerings and awesome team, which is always willing to help you.