Some of our Photography and History High Achievers+ students are taking part in an Oral History Project which will launch in St Helens next week.

Head of Photography, Kevin Crooks, began working on the project called ‘Salt of the Earth’ last Autumn. He was asked to work alongside St Helens Council’s Archive service in the role of Filmmaker/interviewer to capture a substantial number of Oral History recordings. This prompted Kevin to set up an Oral History Group in college with the support of Head of History, Emily Robertson.

The Oral History Group met the Archive Service’s Project Co-ordinator, Fiona Doran, when she visited college to deliver talks. The group also connected with Carl Kenneally, Digital Archivist Team Leader at Liverpool Central Library. Carl hopes to work with the group to produce a series of Liverpool based oral history recordings.

Students taking part have all been recording and capturing their own oral history recordings. Some of these will contribute towards the ‘Salt of the Earth’ project. One of our students, Rebecca Rylands, also now volunteers for the project and works regularly with Fiona at the Archive Service.

We really hope that more students who have an active interest in local history and would like to contribute to its preservation will join the group next academic year. It’s a fantastic experience that will also strengthen UCAS applications, especially if you are aiming for competitive universities.

Click here for full details of the St Helens Oral History Festival which begins at the World of Glass on Monday 4th July.

Book a FREE ticket for An Introduction to Oral History in St Helens
Book a FREE ticket for Coal & Glass: Film Premiere 

Find out more about studying A Level Photography and A Level History at Carmel.