Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces

Our project Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces has now come to an end. It has been a fascinating journey through the archives for our young people as they discovered stories about not only the charity’s own history, but also what Manchester was like in the nineteenth century. 

You can discover all about the work that has been completed over the last 18 months on our webpage. The young people have also done some work evaluating what they thought of the project and what skills they have learnt. They highlighted: 

•          Comedy                                   Dressing up                 
•          Having fun                               Communicating
•          Role play                                 Designing
•          Socialising                               Research
•          Handling old objects                Building a character  
•          Filmmaking                              Responding to historical information
•          Lyric writing                             Music Making
•          Photography   

The project was not just about what was learnt historically but also what new skills had been developed. The young people worked with a number of professionals, learning about what they did on a day-to-day basis, who they worked for and how they got into that type of job. These included a music technician, actors, photographer, set designer, costumer designer and filmmakers. 

The different types of activities allowed young people with different interests to all take part in the same learning. It also brought history for life and facilitated learning in a different way. 

“Seeing a picture in black and white, you see how it used to look but you don’t see the actual true colours”

– K. 

To partake in activities similar to those undertaken in the 19th century allowed the young people to connect with history in a different way. 

“I had a moment when I felt connected to the farm. It felt good. Felt like I was actually there. Like I was actually living there. Like I was taken back in time”

– K. 

It also changed the opinion of their perception of history: 

“Since doing this I like history now” 

– L.

For more information about all the different activities undertaken as part of our Deep Pockets and Dirty Faces, please browse our website.