Stratford teenagers snap to it
Two young people have made a massive step in turning their lives around and have seen their photographic projects exhibited at St Johns House Museum.
16 year old Nathan Parsons of Lower Quinton and Kerry Dobson of Shipston have been working with the County Council’s Pupil Reintegration Unit. As well as sitting GCSEs in Maths, English and Art, the two young people have been chronicling areas around where they live as part of a photographic project.
Funded by the Museums and Library Archives (MLA), the project, known as ‘My Place’, gave the two young people the opportunity to create an image of what their area means to them.
Nathan selected Leek Wootton’s police headquarters for his project and he captured the mix of old and new in the building. His photographs illustrated the Victorian façade of the building as well as some of the state-of-the-art refurbishments.
Now with his sights firmly fixed on a career as a car mechanic, Nathan has brought pride to his mother and tutor alike. Sarah Hewitt, Nathan’s mother, said: “I’m really proud of how he has performed academically and this brilliant project has really given him some focus.”
Kerry Dobson, also 16, selected Ettington Chase as the focus of her project and has seen her interest in the arts bloom. Rather than going into childcare, which had been her aim prior to being with the PRU, Kerry is now looking to study media at college.
Kerry’s pictures encompassed her route from home to the PRU centre in Great Alne. Along with some of the shots she took are old images of landmarks such as Bridge Street in the early 20th century, loaned by the County Record Office. Many were from its Waller collection, the Waller household formerly being based at the Leek Wootton building.
Course tutor, Nicky Manning of Warwickshire PRU, was delighted with the way both young people responded positively to the project and said: “Kerry has a natural talent and I’m thrilled she has had the chance to discover it and use it.”
“Nathan is also an excellent artist. If I had my way, he’d be pursuing it as well but he knows what he wants now and we wish him the very best of luck.”