Project Proposal Time

The first half term has flown by and the members of the Maynard School Archive Society have been hard at work. 

News of the society has spread through the sixth-form and we are delighted to welcome a new member, Elvie Crowe, who comes to us with a background in History, Art, English, French and Music. With these passions it was hardly surprising that she was drawn straight away to the artwork on old school magazines and concert programmes.

 Elvie enjoys the school magazines

The students have been very busy over the past few weeks discussing their projects and refining their ideas with the help of Miss Ellis and Mrs Flavelle. There is such a wealth of materials available on so many aspects of the past life of the school, that it is no easy matter. However, after much discussion and debate, the students have decided to pursue the following projects, which they anticipate to be completed before the end of term. 

Elvie and Alice get busy in the archives

Phoebe and Rose look at site plans

Project Proposal 1

Researchers: Maddie Turner and Anya Mattocks

Aim: To research the changing nomenclature of science subjects between 1950 and 2000 using materials such as Prize Giving Hand outs and School Magazines. Initial research has revealed that science GCSEs/O-levels/A-levels have not always had the same names as they have now.

Project Proposal 2

Researchers: Phoebe Stevens and Rose Woolcombe Mundy

Aim: To research the building of Ryan House on the present site and track changes and proposals over time, using old plans of the site.

Project Proposal 3

Researcher: Alice Edwards

Aim: To research the pre-war sporting history of the school from 1903-1939. Alice intends to research using the school magazine what sports were played before the outbreak of World War Two and which schools, the Maynard competing with in tournaments and matches to see if there is any semblance to the sporting life of the school today. 

Project Proposal 4

Researcher: Elvie Crowe 

Aim: To research the changing covers of the Maynard School Magazine, including style, artwork and how they were produced.

Hard at work...

School magazines and concert programmes

 So as you can see, we have a wide range of interests within the society. The students have been busy gathering initial research materials ready to analyse over the coming weeks.

Former Pupils...

Coming Soon

Work in progress and Explore Your Archive Week

Welcome to the Blog

A first meeting…

The first meeting of the Maynard School Archive Society took place last week. Six enthusiastic sixth formers made their way up the secret stairs in the stable block to meet the archivist, former Physics teacher and alumna, Miss Ellis, and current History teacher, Mrs Flavelle. The sixth formers brought with them a wide range of skill sets. Between them they study subjects as varied as Biology, Classics, Psychology, English and naturally, History, bringing together a wealth of interests and passions. 

A view of the Archive

Running the MSAS are M. Ellis (archivist) and C. Flavelle (History Teacher)

The students spent this initial session getting to grips with the Society’s objectives and with the materials available to them in the archive. The Maynard School Archive is home to a number of items stretching back to the early 1900s, providing a rich tapestry of the school’s history through the collections of school magazines, old exercise books, photos of past pupils and teachers, school cups et al. The students very much enjoyed looking through the boxes of materials. In particular, a series of exercise books marked ‘Laundry’, full of diagrams of clothes lines and recipes for getting mud stains out of trousers, caused a large amount of consternation and amusement from the students.

 Maddie finds some old library records

 Anya takes a look at some old exercise books

 Phoebe takes an interest in photos from the 1920s

 Georgie checks out 'Laundry' as a former school subject

 Alice looks at old staff members from earlier last century

 Rose finds some old school cups

What is the Maynard School Archive Society and what is the purpose of this blog? 

The Maynard School Archive Society was founded earlier this term, to give current students the opportunity to do research into the past history of the Maynard School. Beyond giving the girls some background in basic archival work and getting them to do collaborative research, by running this blog on a monthly basis the students will have the chance to present their research to a wider audience of parents, alumnae and local historians. 

The students are hoping to post approximately on a monthly basis, how they are progressing with their projects, with the anticipation that their first full projects will be shared in early December.  

Students check out the archive
 

 

There are plenty of boxes...

 

This sign survived the Baedeker Blitz in April 1942

Coming soon

 The students share with you their project proposals for this term.