HISTORY students from The Skipton Academy have been working on a photography project that has seen them delving into the archives of the historic Rowley Ellwood Collection.

The school's history club students have been involved in the 'then and now' project - a collaboration between North Yorkshire County Council, Skipton Library and Craven District Council's Government funded Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) programme.

Working with professional photographer Simon Mooney, they have been studying the Rowley Ellwood Collection - an online archive of more than 600 historic photographs of Skipton collected by historians Dr Geoffrey Rowley and Ken Ellwood. With the help of a digital artist and library staff, they selected photos to replicate with an up to date version.

A spokesperson for The Skipton Academy said: "Under the guidance of Simon Mooney, the students used digital cameras to take their photos and then comparing them to the old images held in the collections.

"They then used the old and new photos to create a composite ‘Then and Now’ image. The final images will be used to form a Skipton town trail which will be soon featured on the interactive augmented reality app, What Was Here.

"The students have also been making a film of their experiences, interviewing each other and library staff not just about the Rowley Ellwood photographs, but also other parts of Skipton Library’s Local Studies Collection.

"The project has been an incredible experience for the students, and they have learned a lot under the mentorship of Simon. Not only have they become familiar with digital photography and filming techniques, but have also gained an appreciation of the historic photographs in The Rowley Ellwood Collection.

Simon said: “Local history has a fascination for me and I love to photograph on the streets. Photo archives are another passion, so the chance to work with students on The Rowley Ellwood Collection made this the perfect commission.

"There is so much the students can take from the project: the importance of libraries, a better understanding of their history, an introduction to photography and how to tell stories with sound and video. Our objectives are to produce around ten streetscape/print photographs, a town trail and a short film about the process”.

Councillor Simon Myers, chair of Craven District Council, said: “As a council, we’re really pleased with how the project has developed in Skipton. The ‘Then and Now’ project has enabled talented pupils from Skipton Academy to show off their digital and photography skills. We cannot wait to see the exhibition on display.

"Of course in will be of great interest to our residents and visitors in seeing how Skipton has developed over time and perhaps too a reminder that not everything in the past was rosy.”