Year 8 pupils at Acton High School, Ealing, and Kings School, Winchester, are recording interviews with members of the African Caribbean community in West London, creating a DVD, touring exhibition and drama performance. Hampshire County Council is running the project with the aim of helping young people to learn more about their own and other people’s heritage.

Whereas Acton High School is located in an inner-urban location where many of the pupils are from a Caribbean background, Kings School serves a mainly rural, relatively affluent white British community. Those being interviewed are older members of Ealing’s migrant community who will share their memories of arriving in England and settling in this country, finding employment and contributing to UK society.

Helping with the project is the Ealing Windrush Consortium, a community network of British African-Caribbean residents who all share an interest in the era of settlement that began with the arrival in Britain in June 1948 of the SS Windrush carrying the first post-war group of Caribbean migrants.

Some 500 copies of the resulting DVD will be made available to schools, local libraries and public archives. Galleries and museums in Ealing and Hampshire will display the exhibition created from the information and artefacts gathered.

For the Heritage Lottery Fund, Head of HLF London Sue Bowers, said: “This project will introduce one group of young people to their ethnic heritage and another group to the multi-racial nature of modern society. It will help to cement relationships between two communities while helping to conserve the memories of the older generation.”

For the Ealing Windrush Corporation, Laurie O’Garro, said: “This project is the culmination of plans we've had for a long time. We're grateful for the encouragement from Acton High School and the community, without which we would not have been able to get it off the ground. The grant will enable us to achieve much more than we originally thought we would. 

"This project will showcase the rich cultural and intellectual diversity and the contribution of the African Caribbean Community since their arrival in the UK and give students from The King’s School in Winchester, and Acton High School in London – two very different schools – an opportunity to work together and forge new links."

Notes to editors

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported 33,900 projects, allocating £4.4billion across the UK.

Further information

HLF Press Office, Vicky Wilford on 020 7591 6046 / 07973 401937 or vickyw@hlf.org.uk or Phil Cooper on 07889 949 173.

Laurie O’Garro, Ealing Windrush Consortium on 020 8579 4920.