A FORMER Stourport student has been working on the West Midlands' first British-Chinese heritage project, which was officially launched at The Cube, in Birmingham.

WaiLo Li, 29, who attended Stourport High School, helped co-ordinate the project, designed to capture the hidden histories of Birmingham's Chinese community.

Miss Li said: “It's been an absolute privilege to be part of the project, both as a volunteer and as a participant.

“Some of the interviewees in their 80s and 90s have got absolutely fascinating tales to tell - of determination, grit and courage from their journeys of migration - it's been really inspirational and crucial to capture before it's too late."

The project, titled Chinese Lives in Birmingham, is being exhibited at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts until June 8 before being permanently archived in the Library of Birmingham thereafter.

Miss Li is also the founder of Project TOM, a voluntary, non-profit group that encourages more young people into charity work, which provided volunteers to help organise the heritage project.

She said: “The historical project looks at the lives of individual migrants and British Chinese through different life stories, as well as the development of the Chinese community in Birmingham - an integral part of the city's history over the last six decades."

Spearheaded by the Chinese Community Centre Birmingham (CCC-B) in Digbeth, the output includes a blog, a booklet and a visual exhibition, as well as audio recordings of the interviews.