A dance group at Helston County Secondary School in September 1954, courtesy of Jean Richards (second from right)

In December CAST invited former pupils and teachers to celebrate the conclusion of Green School Revisited. This oral history project has recorded and celebrated the history of the building in which CAST is now housed. In the last phase of its life, the school was known as the ‘Green School’ because of the green and grey uniforms worn by its pupils.

This year, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Sharing Heritage scheme, CAST began a collaboration with the oral history company Azook, an organisation based in Redruth that works to connect people to their cultural heritage. Azook commissioned broadcaster David George to conduct interviews with former pupils and staff and made scans of photographs, school reports and other documents connected with school life. David George then compiled images and excerpts of audio interviews into a 50-minute film that was presented to an enthusiastic audience in the old school assembly hall at CAST.

All the material collected through the project is now shared in the Helston County Secondary School collection of the online archive cornishmemory.com. The website features over 30,000 photographs, films and audio recordings relating to Cornish life and attracts users interested in Cornish culture, heritage and family history from around the world.