“I think it was an amazing acting opportunity and made me realise that I had never been taught about my local history before this project. It opened my eyes to something I didn’t realise was there before, although it had been under my nose that whole time. Altogether, it was an amazing production that I was so lucky to be a part of.” – Eleanor (Student)
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time working on the ‘When Yesterday Was Young’ project. It was a great opportunity and helped a lot with childcare, whilst my parents were at work. All of my friends and family who came to watch the show loved it. I enjoyed the National Coal Mining Museum because it pushed me out of my comfort zone, to go into the mine even though I was afraid. The set that was created during the build week was stunning. You could hardly recognise that it was the Enter Centre. A great thing about all the activities was that they were all free. I loved working on the ‘When Yesterday Was Young’ project and would like to thank Enter for getting me involved in it.” – Hannah (Student)
“Dylan has enjoyed learning about the mining heritage in the region. ‘When Yesterday Was Young’ was a fantastic opportunity for all the family to remember the roots of the region. I think the most touching moment when my youngest son (9 years) was sat crying during the show. Obviously, your message hit home.” – Lorna (Parent)
“It was very new to me to go down a coal mine and our guide made it very interesting. I learnt about jobs down a mine, such as the trapper and we all crawled through the tunnels and experienced how dark it was. It must have been so hard for them.” – Ella (Student)
“I was involved in the National Coal Mining Museum (which was very fun) and when the Beamish staff did their outreach sessions. At the Museum, we learnt a lot about coal and we even went into an actual mine. When the staff from Beamish came, we learnt about the miners and their families and the conditions they had to mine in. We even learnt a fun song at the end.” – Issac (Student)