The Methodist Homes (MHA) – Year 9 Visit

We are delighted that our Year 9 students were again able to visit the MHA West London community to engage in a social history project.

The aims of the project are multi-fold and include:

  • to foster multi-generational relationships within the local community
  • to engender multi-generational understanding
  • to teach the skills of history research
  • to teach communication skills with people one has never met before
  • to inspire curiosity around social history issues
  • to strengthen links between Northwood College and the wider community

We felt privileged to be able to help facilitate discussions between our students and Senior Citizens living in the local community. Our History curriculum spans many important topics in Year 9, including the First World War and European History.

MHA West London community

At Northwood College for Girls, we recently celebrated over 130 years on our site, the school having been founded by Mrs Catherine Buchan-Smith in Central London in 1870 and relocated to Northwood, a greener and larger site in 1892. The school has been involved in community service for the last 132 years.

In Year 9, we develop student confidence in communicating in a number of ways including public speaking and debate, and enhance ambassadorial skills by meeting with members of our extended and prospective community. We are so pleased that we could continue our social history project to help the students find out more about the lives, experiences and contributions of Senior Citizens, as well as, developing their interview and discussion skills.

The students were excited to meet the Senior Citizens and to talk and find out more about how society has changed over the years. This area of social history is fascinating and we hope that it was equally enjoyable for the members of the Live at Home Scheme to converse with our students.

Click HERE for a series of summaries, written by the students about each of their conversations with a resident. It is clear to see how much they enjoyed the experience and how much they gained from it. One of the students was so engaged by her experience that she asked if she could write something more than just a short summary; hers is the last entry.

Thank you from all at Northwood College for Girls to all the residents for welcoming us so openly and warmly.