Children at a village primary school near Ripon are starring in a film which will tell the history of their school going back more than 150 years.
The film is part of a bigger project undertaken by Bishop Monkton Primary School in conjunction with the village’s Local History Group which also includes a book, an exhibition and learning resources for use in the classroom.
Auditions were held to choose two children to be the main presenters of the film plus four child reporters.
Filming took place between December and March and the whole project culminates next week with the School holding a Victorian Day during which the film will be screened, the exhibition displayed in the School Hall and the book made available for sale.
The ‘Best Years of Our Lives’ project started in the Spring of last year with volunteer researchers from the Local History Group trawling through the school’s own records as well as local archives to find out more about education in the village.
They uncovered evidence of small private schools run in the village in people’s homes years before the village school itself was opened in 1849.
The Headteacher of Bishop Monkton School, Sally Cowling, said:
“This has been a wonderful chance to research in depth the history of our School.
“What has really brought it to life for the children is meeting past pupils (including those who attended school in wartime) and having the opportunity to ask questions about their school days.
“I think the children can see that there have been many improvements in education over the last 150+ years – not least moving away from outside compostable toilets!
“Thankfully as educators we don’t need to use the sort of discipline that was commonplace in Victorian times!”
The project has chronicled the development of the school since 1849 through the Victorian era and into the twentieth century including its move in 1971 to a new site in the village.
It also delved into the history of the Mechanics’ Institution in the village which was a centre for adult education and learning in the late nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century.
The research was used to provide learning materials for a topic entitled ‘The History of Our School’ for all year groups in the half-term up to last Christmas.
The project has been supported by grants from the Johnson & Mukherjee Charitable Trust and the Two Ridings Community Foundation which have enabled the use of a professional camera operator and editor on the film.
The producer of the project, Colin Philpott, who is a volunteer with the Bishop Monkton Local History Group, said:
“This is such a great project to work on.
“The children and staff at the School are so enthusiastic about finding out more about the history of their school and then telling the story through various means including a film.
“It has been fascinating to see them discover just how different schooling would have been years ago!”
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