Dunston Primary & Nursery Academy—part of Minerva Learning Trust—is proudly celebrating the success of seventeen pupils who have been selected to join a specialist journalism programme as part of Chatsworth’s Cascade Chronicles Oral History Project.
Chosen from nearly forty applicants, the pupils will receive weekly journalism training from the Young Journalist Academy, delivered by Paradigm Arts. The training will equip them with professional skills in interviewing to take a leading role in capturing community stories that will be preserved for generations.
As newly trained young journalists, the pupils will help record 50 oral history interviews with Chatsworth’s current and former employees, volunteers, residents, and visitors. Their work will form part of the nationally significant Celebrating the Cascade restoration project, which is being undertaken by the Chatsworth House Trust charity and has received funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
For many pupils, this is their first experience stepping into a professional world—asking questions, shaping stories, and becoming custodians of their community’s heritage.
Louise Parker, leading the project at Dunston, said:
“The opportunities Chatsworth provides for our children are fantastic. Watching them develop confidence, curiosity and professionalism through their journalism training has been inspiring. They’re not just learning skills—they’re becoming part of Chatsworth’s history.”
Dunston Primary & Nursery Academy’s involvement reflects Minerva Learning Trust’s commitment to expanding horizons and creating meaningful experiences that help every child see their potential beyond the classroom.
Bev Matthews, CEO of Minerva Learning Trust, said:
“This project is a powerful example of what we stand for at Minerva. It shows that Education is not just about classrooms and books; it is about opportunity, vision, ambition, and breaking down barriers.”
“Through the Chatsworth project, our pupils are stepping into the wider world, developing confidence, and discovering their potential. Opportunities like this open doors that some of our children never imagined could be theirs.”
The interviews captured by Dunston’s young journalists will be archived for future researchers, featured on the Chatsworth website, and included within on‑site interpretation. This means the pupils’ work will become a permanent part of Chatsworth’s heritage—immortalising not just the voices they capture, but also their own contribution as the generation who documented this moment in history.
The Celebrating the Cascade project is made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project is enabling the essential restoration and conservation work that is urgently required to save and restore Chatsworth’s Grade I Cascade and engaging a much wider range of people with Chatsworth, ensuring they can see, feel and take part in the Chatsworth story. The Cascade Chronicles oral history programme captures the human stories connected to the landmark, ensuring they are preserved alongside the physical restoration.