British Values and the Royal British Legion

Performing Arts students at Ormiston Victory Academy were privileged to be given the honour of working with the Costessey branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) to help commemorate the centenary of the First World War.

On receiving a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund, the RBL invited Victory students to be a part of the project. The ‘memory’ project sought to document stories of how conflict affected people in Costessey. Students used iPads from the grant to spend three months researching for the project, spending time with veterans in the Costessey area, conducting and filming interviews.

The students also enjoyed a trip to the Imperial War Museum in London to help them to understand the impact of war as part of the project. They also learned to cook using ration food with local Brownies.

The result of the project, an hour long film entitled ‘100 Years in Memory’ was screened at the academy with 20 veterans present.

Helen Curson, Ormiston Victory Academy said: "The veterans were very pleased with how the children kept relating it back to Costessey. They thought it showed they had a real understanding of it, and they said it surpassed all expectations. It was very emotional.

"On witnessing the emotions of the veterans both when being interviewed and when they watched the premiere of the film, it was clear to see the students involved could see they had made a huge difference to the lives others – they learnt of the resilience necessary during the war and equally they demonstrated their own resilience when making the film."

The finished film was sent to everyone involved in the project, as well as to local amenities, such as the Costessey library, for public viewing.

Since collaborating for the project, the Royal British Legion have asked the academy to engage in a formal affiliation which will enable us to participate in further projects and fund-raising.

For more information, please visit http://www.ormistonvictoryacademy.co.uk/ or https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/