Extending school’s arts opportunities
Warwickshire County Council’s Extended Services division has made an arts project possible that has brought artistic inspiration to the fore in schools in the south west cluster of Warwick.
Seven primary schools – Barford St Peter’s, Budbrooke, Lapworth C of E, St Mary Immaculate, Newburgh, The Ferncumbe C of E, Westgate – as well as Aylesford Secondary School have been involved in the Extended Services Clster Schools Art project to decorate parts of the school, organised by the cluster co-ordinator based in Aylesford School.
The mural at Aylesford School was the first of the unique pieces of art work to be unveiled.
With additional funding from Arts in Warwickshire and the King Henry VIII Endowed Trust whose remit includes making grants available to support educational facilities in Warwick, an artist was commissioned to work with the pupils along with parents and members of the community outside of school hours.
Jenny Hetherington, a local professional artist, worked with pupils from across the cluster to produce pieces of artwork.
The first piece, a mural painting featuring landmarks of the locality has been unveiled at Aylesford School. The rolling programme will see the artwork at the other schools unveiled in stages as the year progresses.
Megan Heaton, a year 10 pupil at the school, said: “I developed ideas. It helped me with my GCSE art because this built up my confidence and gave me new ideas and techniques to use in my pieces.”
Jenny Hetherington the professional artist who worked with the children said: “I simply facilitated the project: it was lead by the children who designed and created the mural. My input was it offer tools and techniques to help them achieve the project, using the strengths of each individual to get the best collective result. “
Councillor Izzi Seccombe, Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for children, young people and families, said: “Extended Services has given the schoolchildren a chance to create their own impression on their school’s environment. It is the first thing you see when you enter the school and has given the pupils a real sense of pride in their school building.”