Use this Page to…
- Learn about an example of a schools programme facilitated by a local archive service.
This case study focuses on the partnership between Newham Heritage Centre and Eastlea Community School in Canning Town, London, which engaged students with Newham’s local history and culture.
The Project
Eastlea Community School is a co-educational secondary school for 11-to-16-year-olds based in Canning Town, Newham. In March 2025, a class of Year 9 History students worked with the Newham Heritage Centre team on a project exploring Newham’s heritage.
Over six weeks, the students uncovered Newham’s history by learning what an archive is, examining reproduced archival material and photographs of museum objects, and discussing what archives can tell us about the past. Alongside this, the students worked with an artist to bring their learning and creativity together to create new collages inspired by what they had learnt from Newham’s archive using reproduced material. The collages were displayed at Canning Town Library following a launch event.
Collages inspired by Newham Heritage Centre’s collections which were made by the students and displayed at Canning Town Library (2025).
Student Testimonials
Students were asked what they had learned during the project, and their answers focused on the Newham’s heritage and the purpose of the archive:
“Heritage can mean culture. I enjoyed learning about Newham’s past.”
“I never knew we had a heritage centre. We learnt how the heritage could be about the past.”
“I learnt the meaning of heritage, and more about Newham and its history and culture. I learnt a different style of art and how to express the true meaning of Newham in art.”
“We learnt about an archive and what it keeps, like newspapers, photographs, and recordings.”
“We liked looking at the items in the archives and were able to touch them.”
“We learnt about heritage, archives, newspapers, documents, and video. I loved this project with my whole heart. I enjoyed the trip that we took, and made a beautiful collage.”
One in a Series….
This resource is the fourth in a series designed to encourage and support archives in collaborating with the education sector. The series consists of the following resources:
1- Why your Archive should Work with Young People
2- Archives as an Educational Tool
3- Ways to Contact Educators
4- Case Study
5- Additional Resources