The Archive Oral History Project

Posted by System Administrator on 26 May 2022

During the summer term, the pupils were involved in preparations for an oral history project; including interesting discussions about the value of oral history, and what questions we could ask Old Brightonians about their experiences as pupils. The group interviewed Old Brightonians from the 1970s about their time here, recording important aspects of College life that are usually missed by the Archive’s official records.

One of these visiting OBs was Bill Gornall-King (Al 1971-76), who very kindly brought in programs and other records to donate to the Archive. During our interview with Bill, we discussed the many changes that were afoot at Brighton College during the 1970s: the new building projects taking place, and the arrival of the first girls to the College, while also revisiting some of Bill’s favourite memories as a pupil here. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Bill and the other OBs who gave up their valuable time last week to come to the school and be interviewed by our amazing Community Service pupils.

The long-term ambition is to turn this into an annual oral history project, and we hope that during the next academic year we will be able to invite more OBs into the school, giving current and past pupils the opportunity to share their school experiences. Let us know if you would be interested in participating in any future oral history projects.