‘Ashington to the Future,’ will be funded by a grant from the Platten Family Trust, administered by the Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. The project aims to use Northumberland Archives’ collections to cover STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths) subjects as well as History, and to develop relationships with Primary schools in some of Ashington’s most disadvantaged areas.  Ashington is undergoing significant investment and regeneration, and so this is an exciting time for Northumberland Archives to engage with the Ashington community and provides a gateway to becoming involved in the scope of future projects in the town.

The project will enable participating pupils to find out about Ashington’s past and to think about how they would like the town to be in the future; to learn some design and engineering skills which will give them a head start at secondary school and to encourage them to think about STEM careers themselves.

Each school will receive a series of arranged workshops by the Senior Archivist and Project Officer. The beginning of the project will provide a historical background to industry in Ashington using archival material.  Teachers will have access to the project and beyond.  Involving partners, such as the Newcastle University Farrell Centre and Northumbria University will not only build relationships between educational partners but promote university as a future career path, one which pupils may not previously have considered.

The project will culminate in a co-created exhibition celebrating the pupils’ vision of Ashington in the future.