An amateur film made and narrated by David Williams of an educational visit by a delegation from Durham University to the country of Lesotho in southern Africa in 1968. The film begins in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, with student teachers and members of the delegation waiting to go inside a large building to attend the official opening of the course by Lesotho’s Permanent Secretary of Education. The film then changes to a show a group of local schoolchildren visiting Maseru railway station...

An amateur film made and narrated by David Williams of an educational visit by a delegation from Durham University to the country of Lesotho in southern Africa in 1968. The film begins in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, with student teachers and members of the delegation waiting to go inside a large building to attend the official opening of the course by Lesotho’s Permanent Secretary of Education. The film then changes to a show a group of local schoolchildren visiting Maseru railway station as part of an environmental study into the effects of the railway on that area designed by some of the student teachers. Back at the school, pupils build their own railway from mud, stones and twigs. The school holds it’s own opening ceremony attended by all the pupils and teachers. The final section of the film is a special excursion arranged for the children by train from Maseru to Marseilles in the Free State. For many of the children, this would be their first experience of travelling by train. The film opens on general views of a group of student teachers and members of the Durham University delegation standing outside a large building in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. They chant and wait to go inside. Included amongst the group are a number of nuns in religious habits, one of the men from the Durham delegation comes over and says ‘hello’ to the person behind the camera. With the door of the building open, the student teacher and members of the delegation go inside. Standing at the back waiting for everyone to go inside is the Permanent Secretary of Education for Lesotho holding his speech. The film cuts to show groups of student teachers sitting or standing on a grassy area following the ceremony. One woman dances for the camera. General views follow of a number pieces of art made on the ground by children using leaves, stones, earth and clay. One design has letters that reads ‘This is Biaco’, above it the shape of a longhorn cow made from leaves and stones. The film cuts to show a group of schoolchildren standing beside a large flatbed lorry. Two Land Rovers pull up in front of it. Some of the student teachers help to load the children onto the back of flatbed lorry. At Maseru railway station, the children are helped from the lorry and then make their way onto the platform. A steam train stands on the line just outside the station. Pupils are helped into a carriage and then off again. The children run along the side of the train to the locomotive and watch a man standing on the running board wiping down the smoke box. General views show the pupils looking at the locomotive. A female student teacher holds ones child’s hand and points at the train. A girl puts her fingers into her ear when the train blows its whistle. On the platform the children, student teachers and Durham delegation stand together listening to a man talk and point out a nearby building. Standing at a safe distance along the trackside, the children watch as the train pulls out of the station. As it leaves, a student teacher leads some of the children in song and dance. The children rush across a road towards a goods yard where they watch men shovel coal from a number of wagons into lorries parked beside them. Another wagon contains a large number of wooden props, possibly for mining. Back at the school, student teachers help the pupils off the flatbed lorry and they all walk back to the schoolyard. The film cuts to show a model railway built by some of the pupils around the grounds of the school made from earth, stone and twigs. A view of a bridge made from stone and clay crosses a small gap. The school attend an opening ceremony for the railway, with one of the teachers pretending to be the President. A small boy shakes the man’s hand and behind him the class begin to clap as one of the Durham delegation takes a photograph. The film changes to show a large group of schoolchildren standing around the boy as he cuts a ribbon, again everyone applauds. On the track a train made from clay is moved by three boys. General views follow of pupils measuring the length of the railway by either pacing it out or using a ruler. From the hillside, a group look down on the work being done below. The film cuts to show pupils once again being helped onto a British Leyland flatbed truck. The vehicle drives out of the school grounds and some of the children wave at the camera as they pass. The film cuts to Maseru railway station as the lorry arrives followed by children being helped on-board a train for a special excursion. A general view shows the locomotive leaving the station and the children on-board waving at the camera. General views of the train travelling along the track cut to it slowly arriving at Cabbiere. On the move again views show the children on-board as well as views of the passing landscape. The train passes a railway signal beside a concrete silo. The train arrives at Marseilles in the Free State that is on the border with Lesotho. The group disembark and walk into a compound next to the railway station. The film cuts to show a locomotive reversing a long the track. The nameplate on the engine reads ‘South African Railways 3645’. The film ends with the train leaving Marseilles at dusk heading back to Maseru.