Warwickshire News Mine

The ‘A Heritage Shared’ exhibition, put together in celebration of Black History Month in October, features cultural diversity themed work with interactive elements based on primary school curriculum areas. All work displayed has been created by Warwickshire pupils.

The exhibition will be open to the public at the civic hall on Rother Street, Stratford from 27 September to 1 Oct before going on tour around a selection of the county’s schools. During this week the exhibition will be officially launched on 30 September by keynote speaker Hardeep Singh-Kohli and music and dance performances by young people.

Students from four Warwickshire primary schools (Water Orton Primary School in North Warwickshire, Rugby’s Northlands Primary, Nuneaton’s St Joseph’s Catholic Primary and St Anthony’s in Leamington Spa) produced the work on display which includes facts, pictures, and models, over the last academic year. They were supported in their projects by Warwickshire County Council’s Equality and Diversity Officer for Children Young People and Families.

Black history teaching was introduced into different curriculum areas at the schools to give students a deeper understanding of the contributions of ethnic minorities to British arts and Music, literature, Media and Sports.

The schools used a range of methods to reinforce learning such as internet and textbook research, multi-cultural resources, cookery and craft sessions and inviting speakers from local community groups into the school.  This helped pupils develop ideas which they used for their creative work.

Following launch week the exhibition will spend a week at each of the schools providing an opportunity for pupil groups from other local settings to see the work and learn more about the history behind some of the projects. The county council has designed some lesson plans for the visiting schools to provide a foundation to help with implementation in their own settings.

Equality and Diversity Officer Shearon Williams said: “The four schools have worked extremely hard on the exhibition and to embed race issues into their curriculum teaching. We are looking forward to supporting more of our schools as they undertake similar projects this year.”

Warwickshire County Councillor Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Children Young People and Families said: “The exhibition is a unique and inspiring way to celebrate Black History Month, bringing focus to our society’s ethnic diversity. 

"It offers fantastic opportunities for schools in the county to share cultures and learn from each other and is a great public showcase for the excellent work of some of our pupils.”

Link to WCC