Insights

Heritage / June 12th, 2026

Commemorating The 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster

Here is a documentary showcasing the wonderful work completed by Year 5 and Year 6 pupils at Crookhill Primary School as they explored the history and impact of the Stargate Pit Disaster, 200 years after the tragedy took place.

Heritage / June 15th, 2026

'James Dreams'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. In this poem, 15-year-old James Robson, this poem reflects on the hopes, dreams, and lost childhoods of the young boys who worked and died in the Stargate Pit Disaster.

Heritage / June 30th, 2026

'The Day John Dies, His Mother Cries and Cries'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. In this poem, 15-year-old James Robson, this poem reflects on the hopes, dreams, and lost childhoods of the young boys who worked and died in the Stargate Pit Disaster.

Heritage / June 30th, 2026

'My Empty Heart'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. In this poem, 15-year-old James Robson, this poem reflects on the hopes, dreams, and lost childhoods of the young boys who worked and died in the Stargate Pit Disaster.

Heritage / June 15th, 2026

'Was the Sacrifice Worth It?'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. This moving poem focuses on the perspective of a mother questioning the terrible cost of sending her sons to work in the mines after losing them in the disaster.

Heritage / June 14th, 2026

'Falling'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. Inspired by the exhausting and dangerous reality of mining life, this poem captures the final moments of a miner caught in the disaster.

Heritage / June 15th, 2026

'Pit Pony Nightmare'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. Told through the eyes of a pit pony, this poem highlights the harsh realities of mine life and the bond between animals and the young miners who cared for them.

Heritage / June 15th, 2026

'The Black Time Bomb'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. This poem presents the mine as a terrifying monster, symbolising the fear, danger and destruction caused by the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster, where 38 people lost their lives.

Heritage / June 15th, 2026

'Two Hundred Years Later'

This project was created to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the 1826 Stargate Pit Disaster near Ryton, Gateshead. Created for the 200th anniversary commemorations, this poem looks at how the Stargate Pit Disaster is still remembered today and how the lives lost continue to be honoured by the local community two centuries later.

Heritage / June 3rd, 2026

BBC Radio Newcastle Interview Crookhill Primary School Project

Watch our featured BBC Radio Newcastle Clip & Interview about our Project with Crookhill Primary School based on the Stargate Pit Disaster!

Heritage / June 2nd, 2026

Gateshead schoolchildren honour victims of historic Stargate Pit Disaster

Crookhill Primary School have been working with Building Self Belief on a year 5 and 6 project about the pit disaster as well as learning about life in the Stargate and Crookhill area 200 years ago and about the changes that have taken place in the area since then.