Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative
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Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative The committee of the Initiative has been greatly honoured to receive a message of support for the Initiative from His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales 1 Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative The Rt Hon Carwyn Jones AC/AM First Minister for Wales Welsh Government MESSAGE OF SUPPORT “It is important that we all appreciate and value the rich history and culture of Wales. The Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative plays an important role in encouraging young people across Wales to work with their families and the local community to explore and learn from the past. My congratulations, therefore, to everyone involved in the Initiative as it celebrates its twenty first anniversary” 2 Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative The Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan MP Secretary of State for Wales MESSAGE OF SUPPORT “The Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative has encouraged people of all ages to explore our country’s rich and diverse patchwork of history, culture and people. By actively encouraging communities to re-engage with their heritage and traditions we are bringing to life the wonder of the past in order to preserve it for future generations. I am, therefore, delighted to offer my support to the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative on its twenty first anniversary and wish it continued success and many more years of educating and inspiring the people of Wales.” Wales Office │ Swyddfa Cymru 3 Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative WELSH HERITAGE SCHOOLS INITIATIVE dates back 21 years. It started as an idea. A number of people got together to find the best way of implementing it. Our objectives were to encourage young people in primary, secondary, special schools and in Sixth Form Colleges to take interest in Welsh heritage, appreciate the contribution made to it by their families and communities, to help to preserve it and to contribute themselves. The Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative committee was set up in Cardiff. Three of the founder members: Danusia Trotman-Dickenson, David Maddox and Walter Jones still serve on the committee as does Iris Hopkins and Graham Rowlands who joined later. Over time others joined in, some retired or left Wales. From the beginning we set out to run a nationwide annual competition for heritage projects by young people age 5 to 18 in schools and colleges in Wales. We invited sponsors to donate prizes and to present them to schools’ representatives at Awards Ceremonies, each year at a different location in Wales To start off, we had no money and no prizes but were very fortunate in finding very generous sponsors both in the private and public sectors in Wales. Our first two sponsors were the Institute of Welsh Affairs which for a time provided us with help in kind, and Sir Julian Hodge who gave us money for prizes and whose family continue to provide them in his memory to this day. Soon other sponsors joined. Some have supported us for years, others are new comers. Their generosity had enabled us to expand our activities. Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative became a registered charity. The number of schools and colleges participating in the Initiative has gone on increasing steadily. The standard of their projects is very high. In 2011 well over 3,000 became involved in the Initiative. There have been a number of developments that will have long lasting effects. The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Millennium Festival had enabled us to start our archive at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth. We also have a website (www.whsi.org.uk) which provides information on the Initiative and gives summaries of some of the projects. The Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative staged the Millennium Exhibition of the schools’ projects, which toured Wales as part of the Millennium celebrations. Past speakers at our awards ceremonies included: Lord Elis Thomas AM – Presiding Officer, National Assembly for Wales; Ms. Jane Davidson AM – Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning; Mr. Tom Middlehurst AM – Minister for Lifelong Learning and Training; Ms. Helen Mary Jones AM – Heritage Committee; Sir Jon Shortridge – Permanent Secretary, National Assembly Government; Mrs. Rachel Lomax – Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, formerly Permanent Secretary, Welsh Office; Mr. Lembit Öpik MP – Spokesman on Youth; Ms. Christine Chapman, Deputy Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning and Local Government; Professor R. A. Griffiths, Chairman of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Dr David Grant, Vice Chancellor, Cardiff University, Pro-Vice Chancellor University of 4 Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative Wales Swansea, Mrs Elizabeth Williams, Head of Children’s and Young People’s Strategy Division, Ms Jane Hutt AC/AM Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning and Skills, (Minister for Business and Budget in 2010). In 2011 the keynote address will be given by the Rt Hon Cheryl Gillan MP, Secretary of State for Wales. EUSTORY The Welsh Heritage Schools’ Initiative is a member of the EUSTORY Network of countries in Europe that organise history/heritage projects competitions. Welsh Heritage Schools’ Initiative represents Wales and is the only member from the UK. Thanks to EUSTORY, schools that participated in the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative are invited to send a number of students to EUSTORY ACADEMIES where they meet some of their counterparts from other member countries of the EUSTORY Network: Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Slovenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Switzerland – and established long-term contacts. The Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative has established strong links with countries in Europe through the EUSTORY Network. The Chairperson of the Initiative and other members of the committee have attended annual conferences of the network. MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON It has been a great privilege to be involved with the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative from the beginning. Twenty one years ago I invited a number of people to a meeting and we formed the committee of the Initiative. Some of the founding members still serve. Over time the membership expanded as did our activities. It is with great regret that I have decided that the time has come for me to retire. I would like to thank all my colleagues, past and present, for their dedication, hard work and determination to ensure the success of the Initiative. In particular I am greatly indebted to my fellow trustees; Iris Hopkins, Walter Jones and David Maddox. I am most grateful to all our sponsors who have made it possible for us to run the Initiative by giving us financial support and ‘help in kind’. They have contributed generously in various ways; donating prizes for schools and giving freely their time to attend the Awards Ceremonies and to meet pupils and their teachers. This year more than 3,000 young people from all over Wales participated in the Initiative. Their projects were highly imaginative, interesting and contributed to the heritage in Wales. On behalf of all of us on the committee I would like to congratulate them. I would also like to thank the director of EUSTORY and her colleagues for welcoming us to the international network and including us and schools from Wales in its activities in various countries in Europe. Danusia Trotman-Dickenson 5 THE CHALLENGE TO SCHOOLS Each year, the Welsh Heritage Schools Initiative Committee invites infant, primary, secondary schools, special schools (for children with special needs), and Sixth Form Colleges to undertake heritage projects and to submit them for the nationwide heritage competition. These projects require research, collection of materials, analysis and evaluation. They may result in booklets, exhibitions, performances, restoration work, models and materials using information and communications technology. Young peoples’ work is assessed, taking into account the appropriate level of literacy, numeracy and information technology skills. Pupils are encouraged to involve their community and people of different generations in their projects, and to disseminate their findings. All schools entering the competition are visited by judges, and prizes are awarded for the best projects in each category: infant, primary, secondary and special schools. These prizes are presented by the sponsors who had donated them at an Awards Ceremony. Each year, the ceremony is held at a different venue in South, Mid and North Wales: Cardiff – National Museum and Galleries of Wales; Ebbw Vale – Garden Festival Wales; Builth Wells – Royal Welsh Agricultural Showground; Builth Wells – National Eisteddfod; University of Wales – Lampeter; Llanberis – Museum of the North; Powys Castle; Rhondda Heritage Park; Techniquest in Cardiff Bay; The National Library of Wales at Aberystwyth; Tredegar House, Newport; Cardiff University; Brecon Theatre, Brecon; National Museum Wales, Cardiff; Swansea University, Swansea and The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire. In 2011 the Awards ceremony will be held at Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly Exhibitions of the winning entries are arranged each year to coincide with the Awards Ceremonies whenever possible. We would like to thank teachers and their pupils for participating in the Initiative and for submitting projects of a very high standard. We are most grateful to all sponsors of the Initiative for their generous support and for prizes that they have donated for schools. 6 SPONSORS, PRIZES and GRANTS Acknowledgements The Committee of the Welsh Heritage Schools