HISTORY is being brought alive as a York research and marketing agency delves into the memories of former pupils and teachers at a city school.

As part of a programme of centenary celebrations, Poppleton Road School contacted QA Research for help on a project which aimed to shed light on life at the school.

The venture posed some novel challenges for the company, from evaluating events at Poppleton Road to collecting information from questionnaires as well as conducting a series of oral history interviews.

But while such interviews are new for QA Research, project manager Candi Colbourn said the results of 25 discussions with past pupils and teachers looked "very promising".

"We're finding some real gems of information from people whose voices are not usually heard," she said.

QA Research, based in St George's Place, has a long and successful track record of working alongside schools and colleges, and is committed to providing voluntary and professional services to help develop children, teachers and related organisations.

The Poppleton Road project is one of a string of initiatives undertaken with educational establishments, including York St John, University of York, and Tadcaster Grammar School.

QA Research combines specialist research and consultancy services with an understanding of social and economic research issues and a creative approach to communicating messages. It is now vying for the Best Business and Education link in the Evening Press Business Of The Year Awards.

It also provides services for North Yorkshire Business Education Partnership and their partnerships at the Department of Health, which has led QA Research to become involved in a project helping schools adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Its latest project - the Food in Schools Programme - involved ten schools in Yorkshire and focused on how dining room environments can be improved to increase uptake of school meals.

Updated: 11:22 Tuesday, September 21, 2004