The challenges faced by the residents of Great Yarmouth in the First World War have been remembered by hundreds of pupils at two special concerts.

Great Yarmouth Mercury: Norfolk students performing at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome as part of The Requiem project. Photo: Norfolk County CouncilNorfolk students performing at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome as part of The Requiem project. Photo: Norfolk County Council (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Wednesday’s concerts at the Hippodrome by Yarmouth’s seafront were called The Requiem and featured nearly 280 pupils from 15 schools and college students in the borough.

The concerts culminated with a massed choir of 196 pupils from Ormiston Herman, Edward Worlledge, Great Yarmouth Primary Academy, Woodlands, St Mary and St Peter’s, St George’s and Northgate schools leading the final movement of the Requiem, Our Anthem of Hope.

It was the result of a seven-month creative partnership between Norfolk Museums Service, the schools and colleges and composer Sarah Freestone.

The music for the concerts was played by young musicians from Norfolk County Youth Orchestra and the 50-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.

Ideas for the show were researched and developed by the pupils and students and an exhibition of their research toured the county in advance of the performances at the Hippodrome theatre.

As part of the research for the project, the students visited Time and Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth Library and Norfolk Archive Centre. They worked with museum experts to turn their research into information panels for the touring exhibition.

All participating students got the opportunity to complete an Arts Award during the project.

The whole process was documented by film students from East Coast College and East Norfolk 6th Form, under the guidance of the BBC Voices team.

This documentary will be made available online and produced as a DVD for every participant. A further legacy will be the composition of a Requiem Suite suitable for future performance by local youth orchestras.

BBC Radio Norfolk and BBC Radio 3 filmed the performances to broadcast at a later date.

Led by Creative Collisions, the project marks the centenary of the First World War. It was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Norfolk Music Hub and is a part of the Imperial War Museums Centenary Partnership.

During the First World War the town was shelled by German battleships and bombed by Zeppelins, the first kind of raid the country had seen.