STROMNESS ACADEMY PUPILS TAKE THEIR TEACHERS BACK TO SCHOOL
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Pupils at Stromness Academy made the most of an unusual opportunity to interview their teachers about their school days. Jude Callister, Assistant Custodian at Scapa Flow Visitor Centre & Museum and Rebecca Marr, Fortress Orkney co-ordinator worked with the pupils sharing interviewing skills and looking at oral history techniques using the latest recording equipment. Although the Fortress Orkney project has a World War Two theme, the pupils took ‘school days’ as their subject to enable them to conduct interviews with their teachers.
Second year history students questioned teachers Mr Flett and Ms Devlin about uniforms, punishments and favourite teachers. Mr Flett spoke of his time at Harray School, now the site of Fursbreck Pottery and recalled school games and even their own Olympics with silver milk bottle top medals. Ms Devlin remembered her days at an all girls school in Northern Ireland wearing a bottle green uniform, straw hat and white gloves and remembered the excitement of the first computer coming to the school.
Students listened to oral history interviews illustrating how the human voice can enrich our understanding of history, bringing stories to life. Pupils learned the value of the testimony of the everyday person, not the big names in history but the ordinary witnesses who themselves are of extraordinary importance.
Jude and Rebecca were enthusiastic about the young oral historians, ‘The students came up with some marvellous questions that encouraged revealing answers’ said Rebecca. Jude agreed, ‘Their interviewing skills will serve them well when they move on to undertake interviews as part of their Fereday projects’.
The Fereday prize is an annual Orkney history writing competition launched by the Orkney Heritage Society in honour of former Kirkwall Grammar School history teacher, Dr Rae Fereday. Many of the past projects have linked with Orkney’s World War Two history. The Fortress Orkney project focuses on the local impact of World War Two in Orkney and several students intend to look into local aspects of the war.
During the Summer term the pupils of Flotta Community School will be exploring the rich war histories of Flotta including the remarkable architecture on the island.
Fortress Orkney is part of Their Past Your Future Scotland Phase 2 - a wider Museums Galleries Scotland initiative, funded by the Big Lottery Fund. The aim of the project as a whole is to increase young people’s knowledge and understanding of the impact and legacy of the Second World War, and conflicts since, through the collection of oral histories – recorded interviews with people who have memories of this era.
Andrew Salmond, Project Manager of Their Past Your Future Scotland for Museums Galleries Scotland, said: 'Fortress Orkney is a fantastic opportunity to re-awaken nearly-forgotten memories of what it used to be like living in Orkney 60 years ago. Those memories will now serve to inform and educate younger generations - not only young people growing up in Orkney, but throughout the UK and the rest of the world.'
Their Past Your Future Scotland will culminate with the launch of a website in 2010. The exhibitions and related historic objects will be available as a classroom teaching aid via Learning and Teaching Scotland’s new Scottish schools’ intranet, Glow. This ensures that these projects become a rich educational resource for teachers, and a global legacy for young people and the wider community involved.
Press release supplied by Absolute PR, who are running the Their Past Your Future Scotland campaign
Stromness Academy pupils taking part in an interviewing skills workshop as part of the Fortress Orkney project