Supported by local oral history charity Eastside Community Heritage, 90 pupils from Colegrave and Maryland primary schools undertook research about the local area, initially through visits to the London Transport Museum and Museum of London Docklands, and then by interviewing residents of Holden Point sheltered housing development and users of Community Road Community group to discover first-hand their stories of their life and times in the borough.
Having completed their research and oral histories, the pupils worked with illustrators Mark Long and Mark Oliver, to transform their sketches, notes and ideas into a map forming the centrepiece of an illustrated guided walk leaflet that will be printed and distributed to visitors to the area during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. They also created an exhibition of work that was presented in both schools, at Holden Point, and in other local community venues.
The map was launched on 11 July 2012 and the exhibition toured from September onwards.
We also produced a downloadable KS2 resource for schools interested in doing similar research about their local area.
This project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, www.hlf.org.uk
If you'd like to contribute your memories or photos of Stratford and how the area has changed, get in touch with us at info@anewdirection.org.uk – we'd love to hear from you.
