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A wise man once said “a picture paints a thousand words”, and pupils at St Robert’s Catholic First School in Morpeth put that to the test with a meaningful mural project.

Students at the Northumberland school jumped at the chance to design and paint their very own mural, which represents the school’s ethos in the form of original artwork created from an amalgamation of different pupils’ designs.

How fantastic to have been given the opportunity to go to creative lengths to express a sense of community!

The project was kickstarted by a design competition

David Sutcliffe, Head Teacher, said: “We had an old and rotten mural on our fence. Having looked into getting professional artists to help us create a new mural, and discovering that it would be extremely expensive, we decided to try to create a new mural ourselves.”

Wow, a project that saves vital funds, improves the aesthetics of the school, and allows children to explore their creativity? It doesn’t get much better than that.

The project involved four large wooden boards, acrylic paint, and yacht varnish, and was completed over a three-week period by Year 4 children working with the assistance of the school’s Art Lead, Alice Butler.

“We wanted the children to be involved with the mural design, and had a competition in school to gather their ideas,” continued Mr Sutcliffe. “The design competition was open to the whole school, and we had around 60 entries. There were four winners – one from Reception, one from Year 3, and two from Year 4.

“We wanted the designs to be bright and eye-catching, and to reflect what is important to us in school. The designs we chose all had different elements that when combined created a lovely image.”

Core values showcased in the most beautiful way

As well as showcasing the school’s ethos, the finished mural also represents the core values of St Robert’s, which is a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust.

“Our six ‘bees’ (school core values) are all on the mural,” explained Mr Sutcliffe. “Be happy, be respectful, be spiritual, be honest, be kind, be the best you can. It also has a lovely church depicted by a reception child, full of stick people, which illustrates how close we are to our church and how important it is to us.

“In addition, the trees show the seasons and the passing of time, and the leaves were made using the handprints of the children, showing our growth and development. Finally, a lot of the entries had a rainbow on – the children remembered it as a symbol of hope during Covid – and we felt it was important to include that too.

“The children who helped with the painting were all in Year 4. Staff also enjoyed contributing, and some spent several hours painting side-by-side with the children.”

Something that even visitors can enjoy

The vibrant artwork has pride of place in St Robert’s playground where it’s delighting school visitors.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “How wonderful to have involved the pupils in something so important to the school community.

“Not only have they been able to learn to express themselves in such a creative and fun way, but this project will have helped to create a sense of ownership and pride in the school, at the same time as strengthening the sense of community.”

Students, staff, and the wider Northumberland community should be extremely proud of such a beautiful mural that celebrates core values, the school’s mission statement, and the environment.

We know we’re proud!

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