SCHOOLS NEWS
A GROUP of Rossendale pupils visited one of the last cotton mills in Lancashire for musical inspiration before it closed its doors for the final time.
Alder Grange pupils visited Helmshore Textile Museum as the first stop on the ‘When Lancashire Sings’ project, before the historic museum closed to the public on Friday.
The When Lancashire Sings project, run by Lancashire County Council, sees pupils draw inspiration from local heritage in order to create a modern folk song.
The group of year eight and year nine Alder Grange pupils are now deciding on the topic for their single, which they will write and record with help from BBC Folk Group of the Year 2015-16, the Young Uns.
Year eight pupil Eve O’Riordan said: “The museum was really fascinating – it’s such a shame it’s closed. We got some great inspiration from the trip for our song and are starting to form some cool ideas; it’s getting really exciting now.”
Jess Buckle, music teacher at Alder Grange said: “It was a fantastic experience which helped the pupils to visualise what the lives of the workers would have been like when Helmshore Textile Museum was a working mill. This has helped them to start collating ideas for their song.
Other historical sites in Lancashire that they will be visiting include Gawthorpe Hall and Queen Street Mill.
The pupils’ single will form part of the ‘When Lancashire Sings’ album alongside songs by four primary schools and a high school from across Lancashire.
David Brookhouse of the Heritage Learning Team at Lancashire County Council organised the project. He said: “As the folk genre is defined as the traditional form of communicating stories, it was a natural choice for this scheme.
“Alder Grange pupils will be able to bring a more mature perspective, being some of the eldest taking part.”