Titanic project brings west Belfast schools together

Each pupil was given their own figure to research and analyse for the project

Two west Belfast primary schools from separate communities have completed a Titanic shared education project.

The film about the doomed liner, made by pupils from St Joseph's Primary School, Slate Street, and Blackmountain Primary, is to be shown at Belfast City Hall on Wednesday.

The film called Who Sank the Titanic? looks at why the ship perished on its maiden voyage in April 1912.

Rare footage of the shipwreck filmed in 1986 has recently been released.

Shared education involves pupils and teachers from separate schools and different backgrounds coming together for joint classes and activities.

It differs from integrated education where pupils from Catholic, Protestant and other backgrounds are taught together in the same school.

The link between St Joseph's, which is close to the Falls Road, and Blackmountain, near Ballygomartin, and the Shankill Road, goes back a decade.

Learning from each other

According to the principal of St Joseph's, Mairead Weir, pupils and teachers from the school regularly meet for classes and trips.

"We're two interface schools and we thought it was a wonderful opportunity where a Falls school and a Shankill school can come together and learn from each other," she told BBC News NI.

"We celebrate what we have that we share and also respect our differences.

Pupils from St Joseph's Primary School and Blackmountain Primary were involved in the film

"Every single child from P1 to P7 will have an opportunity to work with the children from the other school and build relationships."

The idea for a joint project about Titanic was inspired both by Belfast's part in the story and by more recent local film successes.

Pupils from each school previously worked on a joint play about the mills in west Belfast, so a film on another part of the city's history was the next step.

"There's a big possibility that many of our children will have ancestors who worked on the docks or on the Titanic," Ms Weir said.

"It's a story the children have grown up learning about.

"They know the area, they know where the Titanic was built."

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In the film, P7 pupils from both schools turn detective to look at which person or group of people was most responsible for the sinking of the Titanic.

"No stone must be left unturned, I want to know once and for all who sank the Titanic," one asks.

But according to Ms Weir, the pupils also had to be like researchers, journalists and lawyers to get to the truth.

"That requires skills for children to debate and look at different perspectives," she said.

"Each child who was playing a different part or researching a different character in the Titanic story was able to argue from their perspective and be able to say why they were not the reason for the ship sinking."

Future Oscar winners?

The pupils also learned about animation, film-making and presenting.

"For example, they were able to dramatise and form the script for the production as well," Ms Weir said.

"And for us to premiere out own short film in Oscar week when we've done so well is brilliant.

"We may have Oscar winners of the future, you never know."

Pupils from both schools will be at Belfast City Hall on Wednesday morning when the film is launched by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Tina Black - who also happens to be a former St Joseph's pupil.