Amber Education have delivered another successful year of projects in North Tyneside to complete the second year of the Primary Source Programme, bringing arts-based learning and our unique approach to teaching documentary film and photography, to the region’s primary schools. 

Programme delivery this year has featured a wide range of projects blending photography closer to the curriculum to explore the local history of Wallsend, the flora and fauna of Richardson Dees Park, the Viking raid on St Paul’s Church, Jarrow and the terrible devastation suffered by the people of North Shields during the bombing raids of World War II.

With each project, we deliver a public exhibition and this summer, we are also proud to share two exhibitions currently on show:

North Shields Fish Quay

A celebration of documentary photography by Year 5 pupils from New York Primary School.

Location: North Shields Library Foyer: Northumberland Square, North Shields NE30 1QU

On Now Until: 22nd August, 2025

Following photography skills-training delivered by Amber Education and research sessions looking at archive maps and photography held in the AmberSide Collection, New York pupils spent a day exploring North Shields Fish Quay. This unique exhibition showcases the skills of every pupil as they captured the buildings, landscapes, details, and portraits of people who live and work on the quay.

Return to Swan’s

Year 5 pupils document the former Swan Hunter shipyard.

Location: Gallery 3, Segedunum Roman Fort, Wallsend

On Now until: 5th September, 2025

The exhibition represents last year’s project engagement when Year 5 pupils from Carville Primary School visited the site of the former Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend. The exhibition features stunning documentary photography as well as a moving interviews conducted by pupils, featuring shipyard workers recollecting life and work in the yard, and Amber’s own Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen and Peter Roberts discussing the legacy of the film Launch and Amber’s documentation of Wallsend in the 1970s.