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ARC unlocks the amazing past of Bristol School

Earlier this year Clifton College approached ARC Data Storage to assist with the storage of their school archives, which go back over 150 years.  As well as providing storage, ARC were asked to carry out a thorough audit of all the items.  Although Clifton College knew there were some valuable and unusual items, a full audit had not been carried out for a number of years. 

The audit initially commenced when ARC opened a large container that had been held at a removals company for a number of years.  The contents were all carefully examined and a detailed catalogue produced.  Subsequently ARC was asked to remove further archives from the school’s own strong room and cellars to complete the archiving.

Clifton College have been delighted with the results.  The process has unlocked incredible facts relating to the school’s history including a rare letter from Nelson, a cricket bat belonging to AEJ Collins (who achieved the highest-ever recorded score in cricket: 628 not out in June 1899), as well as hundreds of photographs and press cuttings, some of which were particularly poignant as they record the bravery of past pupils who served in the first and second World Wars.

All the archive information can now be accessed quickly and easily and this has enabled the facts to be used in a book that the school is compiling about Clifton College.  The school is also considering developing a web site, which through ARC using the latest scanning equipment to copy documents, will give pupils, past and present, access to their house books, school photographs and other school related information.