Young Ones Project

Young Ones Project

The Heritage Lottery Fund is giving almost £50,000 to help fund an educational project being set up by West Sussex Library Service. The Young Ones Project will create classroom learning resources about the history of childhood and schooling on the coast, from the 19th century to the present day.

It is being supported by five partner schools, and will begin when two project staff are appointed in June or July. The project officers will work with teachers from the schools to look at any school archive material which can be digitised. They will also work with the County Record Office and local museums to find sources relating to the history of childhood and schooling in Bognor, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Worthing and district.

“We’re hoping to find Victorian log books, early photographs and interesting newspaper articles, anything in fact which tells about the history of our partner schools,” explained Brad Watson OBE, Cabinet Member responsible for the Library Service.  “Former pupils will be encouraged to donate or lend original material and be interviewed about their schoolday memories.”

As well as providing online data, the Project team will be working in partnership with Worthing Museum to create a loans box of objects on childhood and schooling in the past which can be lent to teachers for classroom study.  The Museum has amassed a collection of material charting the history of childhood and education from maternity to university.

The schools involved are: Connaught Junior School, Littlehampton Downsbrook Middle School, Broadwater, Worthing, Durrington Middle School, South Bersted CE Primary School and St Nicolas & St Mary’s Church of England Primary School, Shoreham-by-Sea.