Children record their experiences of Covid for future generations

Children from a Primary School in Saddleworth have shared their experiences of the Covid pandemic in a new magazine to share with future pupils.

Children from Reception to Year 6  at St Anne's CE School in Lydgate contributed to the magazine, which shares stories, pictures, poems and photographs about the once-in-a-lifetime experience and the hope is that the book will be shared with future generations.

The idea was born in September 2020, originally as a fundraising idea.

Katie Hodson, PTA Chair, continues the story: "Due to lockdown and social distancing restrictions, the school was unable to hold their usual events such as school discos, so we discussed the idea of making a publication of the children’s work with a view to selling copies to create revenue.  

"However, when we received a very generous offer from Practical Publishing to help produce the magazines,  we developed the idea of this being a publication to mark the children’s experiences of the pandemic.  

"It didn't feel right to make money on the activity, and the project became more poignant in terms of marking history and celebrating our children’s resilience."

Children and teachers spen the year developing ideas, collating the children’s work and at the end of the academic year in July 2021, every child received a free copy of the magazine.  

The magazine contains various pieces of work from the children at the school.  The younger children wrote about their lockdown memories,  whilst the older children wrote poems. Some children have written letters to their future selves explaining what life was like during lockdown and how it made them feel.  There are also posters and artwork that depict the children’s thoughts and emotions.

Whilst the magazine remains a historical record of the events of the pandemic, Katie says it's not something the school is likely to repeat.

"This was an immense project in response to the covid pandemic which we hope won’t be repeated again soon!  

"We were also extremely fortunate Practical Publishing helped produce and print the magazines.  It was a very time consuming task for his design team to layout the publication and print it for us.

"We hope it’s something that the children will cherish forever and share with future generations."

Amongst the children who took part in the project (main picture):

Amaan: "It's nice to know that younger generations will know what we've been through."

Lottie: "It was great to see the detail and care children had taken to create it!"

Nell: "It was really fun and the experience was great. We participated with the whole class."

Belle: "The booklet shows our school worked together in hard times. It showcases our family spirit."

Oliver: "The booklets are like a work of art - written by everyone in school."

Headmaster at St Anne's,  Russell Learmont, who co-ordinated the project along with the PTA, says the children have been incredibly resilient.

"I pray that we hear the hope in our children's voices as we read their words and look at their pictures.  However slight some entries may be, they share an equal measure of meaning and impact.  We should read this with great pride."

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