Woolmore School

Remembering the old neo-Georgian primary school in East London

Woolmore Primary School is based in Poplar, East London, an area currently seeing a vast amount of redevelopment. This has led to the school needing to increase the amount of students it can accommodate, and so the decision was made to build a brand new school, which sadly leads to the demolition of the current school building, a beautiful neo-Georgian design. The school has been working with arts educators Bow Arts and as part of this partnership, they commissioned me to create a film to celebrate and document the building before it remains only in collective memory. Along with interviews of current students and teachers, there is also the chance to hear from past pupils of the school and their memories of the old East End.

It felt like a great sense of responsibility to be tasked with capturing this place of local heritage, and honouring it's memories as well as I could. The value that old bricks bring to communities should never be underestimated, and I hope that I was able to capture the atmosphere and love for this particular building, and the importance of it's place in peoples' lives.

April 2015