INTRODUCTION TO LESSONS IN TIME

 

People Around Here is a community arts charity who have been fortunate to have a number of Heritage Lottery Fund grants. We were able to run Lessons In Time with funding from the Young Roots program.

 

We were pleased to be able to partner and work with:

St Teilo’s High School

Cardiff University

Youth TV

Gabalfa Pupil Referral  Unit

Llanedeyrn, Llanrumney and Rumney Digital Literacy classes

Agored Cymru

Cardiff Story Museum

ECLP Communities First

The Powerhouse Community Centre, Llanedeyrn

 

 

'Lessons in Time' is a non-physical piece of work that focused on the collection of oral histories on the theme of the heritage of education in East Cardiff from 1950’s to present day. It captured people’s memories and the history of the community, particularly focusing on stories about people's connections with local schools over 60 years. Schools in the area have recently undergone restructuring, with some schools closing down. We hope that this will prompt many local adults to reflect on, and share, their memories of their own experiences of education in the area, making this a unique opportunity to gather their memories in oral histories, recording this heritage for public use. The young people delivering the project collected data through the following mediums - recording on audio and film, and researching through the Internet and by gathering photographs.

Pupils explored various creative and engaging ways of recording, interpreting and presenting this information. When planning the project, the young people came up with a range of questions they wished to ask to help them find out more about their heritage:

"What was school like when you were young?"

"What careers were available to you?"

"How did the war affect pupils at St. Teilo's and the other local schools?"

"Can you tell us about the people you remember, like your favourite teacher?"

"What is different about the lives of school pupils today compared to when you were young?"

 

The young people asked a range of people about their heritage, including their grandparents and other family members, local older people in supported accommodation, past staff from the schools, and more generally adults in East Cardiff.

 

The heritage gained from this project will have great importance to a range of individuals from specific interest groups:

• Young people were very engaged as the project provided an opportunity to learn new skills, explore their creativity, discover their heritage and be a part of the local community.

• Local schools were engaged and worked towards the personal social development of pupils taking part. The project helped the schools to develop their links with the local community.

• Community members from East Cardiff were engaged in the project as it enabled participants to engage in active citizenship, feel positive about their experiences and community, and facilitate their stories being told.

• Cardiff residents were engaged in the project, as it enabled them to learn about other areas in Cardiff and realise connections between experiences and localities. The project also allowed for further developments and research to be carried out in additional areas, adding to the impact of the initial project.

• Cardiff Story Museum will be using the information gathered to inform visitors about the heritage of Cardiff and share the stories of different communities within the city. The oral histories will be taken into their permanent collection.

• Cardiff University are interested in using the information gathered as research and lectures on social history, economic development, health sciences and social policy development.