Young Roots
Twenty seven pupils aged 12 to 14 from Kings Norton Girls' School and Waverley School worked with Birmingham Archives to research the peaceful Suffragist and more militant Suffragette protest movements. These campaigns led to some women winning the right to vote in 1918.
They visited Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, took walking tours to sites related to suffrage in Birmingham, met a local female MP and travelled to the Houses of Parliament. They created a blog to document their project and a 20-minute film to interpret and explain the heritage. Over 200 people attended the public film screening at the Library of Birmingham.
The young women developed skills in script writing, archive research and debating. They received certificates for their achievements. Learning about the history of different ways of campaigning and protesting further highlighted the importance of women’s rights and helped grow their confidence.
Ann McLeish, a teacher at Waverley School, said: "The girls were apathetic to politics in general and knew little about the history of women’s suffrage and the British political system, but this project has made them more aware of the importance of voting."