We’re now full speed ahead with the Friends of Moseley Baths’ Heritage Lottery Fund supported Pool of Memories project after months of planning and interviewing the public. Last month I went into Anderton Park School and worked with eight Year 6 pupils, researching the history of the building, learning how to make films and then interviewing people with memories of the building.
I had a huge amount of fun with the group, and it was especially exciting to see the enthusiasm for the building that the pupils developed over the course of the week. The aim of the project, as well as teaching research, speaking and listening skills, technical film-making skills and interview techniques, was to instill a sense of ownership of the building in the pupils. The upshot is that they can’t wait for it to reopen so that they can go swimming with friends. They can also reel off a whole list of facts and figures about the building, particularly the boiler room, which is astounding!
We’ve now got two short films, edited down from almost an hour of interviews, which we showed to all of Year 6 at the end of the project. The reaction we got was great, and both pupils and teachers asked lots of questions and were interested in running the project again. It really is the case that Moseley Road Baths inspires and excites people of all ages and backgrounds.
Here are a few short films we made with the Flip which is the pupils talking about the project in their own words. The first is a rehearsal of the presentation that the pupils gave to the rest of the Year group. Enjoy and feel free to add your own thoughts on the project using the comments box below!
I’m starting projects at Clifton Junior School and Park Hill School in the next month… more news to follow on that soon!
What we did this week from Rachel Gillies on Vimeo.
Ibrahim talks about the project from Rachel Gillies on Vimeo.
Umar’s thoughts on the project from Rachel Gillies on Vimeo.