News
Funding secured
Friday, August 18, 2006
Westfield Technology College have secured £8,349 from Local Heritage Initiative to create a photographic and video archive of Weymouth Pavilion. The children from Westfield Technology College will investigate the historic uses of this building and build links with older community groups by interviewing locals and recording their reminiscences.
Westfield Technology College aims to produce a valuable historical archive document, recording Weymouth pavilion and what people feel about it, exploring the buildings cultural & historic significance for the area. This project aims to help schoolchildren understand history through a contemporary issue.
Karen Bidwell, community development coordinator at the school, said: "This is a really exciting project and will involve the children in a whole range of curriculum activities."
This area is part of the world heritage coast. The re-development of the pavilion is a much-discussed issue in the area, especially with the Olympics due to be staged in the locale. One of the ideas behind the project is for the children to realise that history is happening all the time. A major emphasis is on enabling children to acquire the skills, knowledge and understanding of how the historical informs their contemporary life. It will also give them confidence to participate in local issues and in particular to meet and share their views with a range of people from the local community.
The Local Heritage Initiative is about communities investigating, promoting and celebrating their local heritage and showing how people, schools and other groups can come together and raise awareness of heritage through local action. To find out more about the Local Heritage Initiative, go to www.lhi.org.uk.
Stephanie Kruse, LHI South West Regional Adviser, says "Thanks to the Local Heritage Initiative, hundreds of people have been able to get together in community groups and uncover their 'history on the doorstep' and tell their story. It is these pieces of the jigsaw which make up the picture of England's rich and diverse heritage".
Local Heritage Initiative
"The Local Heritage Initiative is a national grant scheme that helps local groups to investigate, explain and care for their local landscape, landmarks, traditions and culture. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) provides the grant but the scheme is a partnership, administered by the Countryside Agency with additional funding from Nationwide Building Society".