EVENTS – Embracing your heritage
The Friends of Castle Hill School play a vital role in the cheese rolling tradition at Cooper’s Hill, with children wrapping the cheese (right) and taking part in the uphill race (below)
Embracing your heritage
Folk traditions provide a link to an area’s past and can be a great way for a PTA to involve the local community, says Daniel Etherington
B
ritain has a rich heritage of folk tradition. But while most people are aware of maypoles and morris dancing, many of
our songs, dances, stories and rituals are unknown to children today. It wasn’t always this way – historically, children would have taken part in local traditions on feast days. As industrialisation shifted the
population into cities, the Victorians and Edwardians recorded and regenerated folk traditions that were at risk of being lost. ‘One of the legacies of the great Edwardian folk song collector Cecil Sharp and his collaborators was books and recommendations about teaching folk songs, dances and traditions in primary schools,’ says musician and researcher Angeline Morrison. ‘He felt, and I agree, that this should be part of all children’s education and
sense of heritage. The practice continued until the 1960s but subsequently fell out of favour.’ This shift was partly a result of
rapid social changes, but there were other factors, too. ‘There’s a hesitation to embrace our folk heritage now,’ says Les Back, professor of sociology at the University of Glasgow. ‘The association with nationalism and imperialism has meant we’ve stopped listening to our past, the regional diversity, the songs and traditions. Many young English
people, in particular, think they don’t have a folk tradition.’
Going local If you’re lucky, you may be able to
fi nd local initiatives that already work with schools. For example, the Friends of the South Downs runs projects that involve talking to schools in Sussex and Hampshire about history, tradition and folklore. One such undertaking is a Folklore Map of the South Downs, led by community historian and heritage consultant Chris Hare. ‘I visit schools, giving illustrated talks about local folklore,’ says Chris. ‘I also take children out into the South Downs, introducing them to the history, archaeology and folklore. Children’s imaginations are limitless so they love folklore!’ In some places, folk traditions
are alive and well. Today, events such as the Obby Oss Festival in Padstow, Lewes Bonfi re, Up Helly Aa in Lerwick, the tar barrels of Ottery St Mary, the Horn Dance in Abbot’s Bromley and Jack in the Green in Hastings attract large crowds. Schools and PTAs in these areas often participate in the celebrations as well.
We’ve stopped listening to our past, the regional diversity, the traditions
Cheese please In Gloucestershire, the cheese
rolling at Cooper’s Hill has become a spring bank holiday spectacle. People come from far and wide to
School Fundraising SPRING 2025 29
TAPE IMAGE: ALEXANDRA LIPINA/
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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