The Young Archivist's Group
Location: Old Chapel
Aim: To restore the School’s history and tell the story of Old Bromsgrovians
This week we went to the Old Chapel (a chapel next to the Humanities Building) to have a look at the work that the Young Archivists are doing and how they take care of the School's history.
When you think of an archive, what usually comes to mind? A desolate, dark and dusty room littered with pictures lost in the past? Or a back room in a museum? Here at Bromsgrove School, the archive is different, there are still some exhibits that have to be sorted and categorised, but they have done a lot of work although they only started several months ago.
The Bromsgrove Service Young Archivist's Group consists of ten students who are very eager to preserve and convey the School's history to visitors, staff and students. They carefully de-frame and sort pictures, read and summarise texts or reports on special events that have taken place at the School over time or research on some of the School's most important Headmasters and students.
Analysing and categorising old letters, documents and pictures in advance of curating the exhibits.
The equipment needed for the deframing of a picture.
Lots of documents are still waiting to be sorted and digitalised.
Group 1, right: Two students are carefully deframing a School photo.
Questions asked:
1. What are you doing?
There are a range of activities which the archivists conduct and there are around nine students. De-framing photographs, preparing exhibitions, figuring out what is in the old boxes. Exhibitions can be in Routh Hall on the First World War etc. They also answer enquiries people may have about the School, e.g. about alumni who came here in the past.
2. Why have you chosen this activity?
I was particularly interested in the historical background of the School and it is fascinating to learn about the life of Old Bromsgrovians.
3. What interests you the most so far?
Getting in touch with history from the actual documents and photographs, working with books dating back to 1860’s on who won scholarships.
4. What skills do you think are needed to become an archivist?
For a School Archivist, an interest in history, attention to detail, research skills, knowledge of conservation and preservation, cataloging, exhibition and curatorial skills, writing skills to share information.
5. What have you learned from this activity?
I appreciate the long history of the School. It is important to preserve it.
6. Where does most of the information come from?
The most information-abundant years are from the last fifty years. A lot of Old Bromsgrovians donate collections from their own photo albums to the School. However, today, the digitalising and storing of photos may be a potential problem as it is harder to get hold of paper copies.
Old folders that contain pictures and texts from the time of the First World War.
Several old documents stored in boxes are still in the queue for sorting and digitalising.
A School photograph taken just before the year 2000.
- Kornkrist Mahathorn, Yann-Nicholas Meister and Ruilin Song