Pupils from St Ives School in Haslemere have had their memories of life during the coronavirus pandemic preserved as part of the 2021 School Time Capsule, a project led by BAFTA Kids, children’s mental health charity Place2Be and Oak National Academy.
Schools all over England, Scotland and Wales were asked to submit any material evidence they had of children learning over the period of national Lockdown. For St Ives, this was easy, as they had so much material from this period. As soon as the national Lockdown was announced, St Ives produced a new school motto and logo to ensure its community stayed close and connected during this period: “St Ives Together Whilst Apart”, formed a new school strategy to ensure that not only did the learning continue, but also the pastoral care for which the school is so well known. Parents too played their part in making this strategy work by regularly sending in photos and videos of their children at home, which were shared amongst the school community during live lessons, assemblies, school quizzes, lunches over Teams and so forth. The school also produced several videos that were shared amongst the children to keep their spirits up and allow them all to see their friends!
The submissions from St Ives for the BAFTA video have been preserved alongside those from other schools all over the UK. The Time Capsule was sealed at BAFTA’s prestigious headquarters on London’s Piccadilly. The pupils’ reflections on this important moment in history will be shared with future generations when the capsule is opened in 2047, marking BAFTA’s 100 year anniversary.
A short film featuring pupils’ words, voices and artwork was published to accompany the sealing of the Schools Time Capsule on 22 November. It can be viewed here.
Or on the following link www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRZuiPqIkwY&t=5s
Kay Goldsworthy, Headteacher at St Ives, said: “It has been very exciting to be part of this project of BAFTA’s and we are so pleased so many of our videos have been included. Whilst the last 18 months have been undeniably difficult for everyone, it will form an important part of our children’s history and we remain extremely proud of the way we continued to teach our pupils and keep our community close during these periods when we were physically apart.”
Catherine Roche, Chief Executive of Place2Be, said: