Pupils at Percy Shurmer Primary School in Balsall Heath are the latest to contribute to the ‘Pool of Memories’ archive of Moseley Road Baths.
Over three weeks they have worked incredibly hard to produce a short film about Moseley Road Baths in the 1950s. They started their research by looking at the ‘Virtual Tour’ of the building, and discussing their own experiences of swimming there. With the building currently closed to the public whilst important maintenance work is being done, we all agreed that we’re desperate for it to reopen so we can have a swim!
We then went on a real tour of the building, going to lots of places that are usually closed to the public. We focused particularly on the ‘Slipper Baths’ and discussed the reasons why people would have wanted to come to Moseley Road Baths for a bath. We realised that just through learning about the Slipper Baths we could learn a lot about the history of Balsall Heath!
Pupils then got out all of the film equipment and learnt how to use the camera and different microphones. There was some great team work as they pupils formed into film crews and helped each other to set up the equipment.
We then prepared to conduct an interview with Mrs Noreen Evans, who swam and bathed at Moseley Road Baths in the 1950s, when she was growing up on Tindal Street. We focused on asking open questions to encourage her to share her stories with us. It worked! We found out lots of interesting facts, such as the fact that there used to be diving boards and that some children used to jump off the balcony when no-one was watching. Mrs Evans made us all laugh when she told us what happens when you do a belly-flop into the water!
As well as learning about Moseley Road Baths and learning how to film and interview, we edited the footage into a film together. We ended up with a really good film that will teach other people what Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath used to be like. The film will appear on here soon. Pupils will receive their own copy of the DVD and a certificate.
Thanks so much to the staff at the school for their help in making the project happen, thanks to Mrs Evans for her interview, and of course, well done to all of the pupils who worked so hard to make the film. We’ll add it to our archive and make sure that lots of people see it on online and at local events!
Tags: education, film, Heritage, Heritage Lottery Fund, interviews, learning, Moseley Road, Moseley Road Baths, Oral History, Pool of Memories, pupils, Rachel Gillies
