North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition · North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition....

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North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition

Transcript of North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition · North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition....

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North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition

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North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition

During 2007, John Laing decided to arrange an art competition in partnership with the three secondary

schools from our PFI project in North Swindon. The aim was to give

pupils a chance to experiment with their artistic talent, with the theme “integration” highlighting the ethos of the schools’ Learning Campus. The schools’ art departments would benefit from prize money, and a close working relationship between John Laing and North Swindon Schools would be developed.

Setting the Scene

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In December 2007, pupils at Nova Hreod College, Isambard Community School and Uplands Special Secondary School were told about the competition for the first time, as posters went up around the schools in time for the Christmas holidays.

The young artists were asked to create a piece of wall mountable art, A2 or A3 in size, and in any medium. We asked that the subject matter be suitable for a corporate environment and told them we were looking for unique and imaginative designs to brighten up our office space. We wanted to see our theme “integration” reflected in the artwork.

the brief

The £71 million project to build seven new schools in North Swindon began in March 2005. The project saw the design, build, finance and now operations of the schools, which are situated across four different sites.

Four of the schools were built on one site, known as the Learning Campus. This was designed to cater for the inclusion of both mainstream and special needs education. The campus includes a mainstream secondary school (Isambard Community School), a special needs secondary school (Uplands Special Secondary School), a mainstream (Red Oaks Primary School) and special needs primary school (Brimble Hill Special School), the latter incorporating a multi agency unit. There are three other mainstream schools on separate sites – a secondary (Nova Hreod College) and two primary schools (Orchid Vale Primary School and Moredon Primary and Nursery School).

There were many unusual environmental aspects to this project, not least at Nova Hreod, a specialist technology school, which has a bio-dome covering the central courtyard and one of the UK’s largest badger sets adjoining the site. At Uplands, the special needs secondary school, the pupils have been provided with a horticultural area which is envisaged, will eventually supply the catering company, Avenance, with fresh produce for school meals as part of their special dietary and curriculum needs.

As well as Avenance, John Laing Integrated Services supplies cleaning, catering, porterage and building and grounds maintenance.

A bit About the SchoolS

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The eleven finalists came to London on Friday 29 February for the Final, along with parents and art teachers from the schools.

Judges for the final included Adrian Ewer, Richard Weston and Chris Waples, from the John Laing Board of Directors along with Silke Pillinger, an education curator from the Tate Britain. Clare O’Hare from

the Tate was also on hand and she and Silke spoke to the children about each of their pieces of art.

After much deliberation, the judges picked four winners: Paul Handy (15), Yara Zakhour (14), Dylan Fernandez (11) and Lydia Roberts (13). The four winning artists were presented with a cheque for their schools’ art departments.

Paul Handy, the winner from Uplands Special Secondary School, created a striking piece of modern art in copper and silver paint. Yara Zakhour’s winning entry for Nova Hreod College in the “Years 9, 10 and 11” category depicted a mysterious looking girl dressed in flags from around the world. The judges awarded two prizes for the “Years 7 and 8” category, to Dylan Fernandez of Isambard Community School for his unique photo-montage, and to Lydia

Roberts of Nova Hreod College for her touching depiction of two friends, expertly drawn in colour pencil.

After a prize-giving and lunch at John Laing ’s head office, finalists were treated to a private tour of the permanent collection at the Tate Modern and enjoyed dinner overlooking the River Thames. The following morning, after a flight on the London Eye the group headed home to Swindon, with happy memories and an art set each.

Silke Pillinger said, “It was a real honour to be asked to judge this art competition. We were so impressed by the quality of the art work and the individuality of the ideas behind each work. We found it hard to single out the winners as in our eyes, all who participated in the competition are winners. We hope that we were able to inspire the group by showing examples of art works within the Tate Collection and that they will continue to use their artistic talents in the years to come.”

“It was a pleasure to welcome these creative young artists to John Laing and chat to them about their work,” commented Adrian Ewer, chief executive of John Laing. “We have been so impressed with the work that we’ve seen, that we are going to showcase it in our London headquarters for all our visitors to see.”

Head teacher at Uplands School Mary Bishop said “This trip was an extremely generous gift from the Directors of John Laing, I was thrilled to be included. It was a wonderful opportunity for the finalists especially as they could bring a parent with them. It gave them a chance to be truly proud of their son or daughter’s achievement. As a special school overnight trips are rarely affordable and certainly not in London. For some in our group it was their first visit to London and their first stay in a hotel. A real treat! We all had a great time and look forward to developing further links with John Laing. A sincere thanks to everyone involved.”

On Friday 15 February, 47 pieces of artwork were submitted by the three schools and the first round of judging was undertaken.

The judges included Neil Selby, from Swindon Borough Council, Rebecca Waldman from arts organisation Artpoint, and Sharon Savage from our on site team, Education Support (Swindon) Limited. The art was split into three categories to reflect the different ages and abilities of the schools: “Years 7 and 8”, “Years 9, 10 and 11” and “Pupils with Learning Difficulties”. Eleven finalists were chosen to come to a prize-giving event in London.

Art teachers Liz Robinson, Chris Thomas and Morag Masters had done a great job in encouraging their pupils to produce imaginative and varied

pieces of work. Everyone agreed that all the art submitted was of an outstanding quality. The 47 budding artists were all given a small art set to say thank you for their contribution and encourage them to continue their artistic interests.

fridAy 15 februAry – firSt round of judging

fridAy 29 februAry – the finAlS And prize-giving

round 1 finAl

Adrian Ewer (above)

and with the other

judges (right).

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PuPils with learning Difficulties

uplAndS SpeciAl SecondAry School

Paul was influenced by one of his favourite things, football, when he created this original work. The mesh pattern across the paper, and the metallic colours integrate together, drawing the eye to the centre of the piece.

winner

Paul Handy - age 15

uplAndS SpeciAl SecondAry School

This piece was created by eleven pupils from Uplands, and Luke represented the group at the finals in London. The four colours in the piece represent Swindon’s Learning Campus – four different schools coming together as one.

Students used material and poster paint, using the following techniques: paint mixing, sequencing patterns, symmetry, hand printing and finger painting.

Pupils with Learning Difficulties Luke Parker and others aged 16 – 18

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uplAndS SpeciAl SecondAry School

uplAndS SpeciAl SecondAry School

This piece of modern art would not look out of place in the Tate Modern! Although the only two colours used are blue and yellow, Caitlin created work showing many different colours and exciting shapes.

Adam is very proud of his artwork and rightly so! He shows great attention to detail in this work, which reminded the judges of Scottish artist David Shrigley’s black and white style.

Adam Culley - age 16Caitlin Peck - age 11

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Years 9, 10 anD 11

novA hreod School

Yara said: “This picture shows how the world can integrate as one. The reason why this brightly coloured dress is on a sad, mysterious looking girl is because it shows ignorance within the world”

Yara Zakhour Age 14

winner

novA hreod School

Jenny said: “I chose to do two worlds: segregation in one and integration in the other. The integration world is sunny and bright and the segregation is dark and dreary. This is to show that integration is better.”

Jenny Dyer Age 15

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novA hreod School

Lydia shows outstanding technical skill in her depiction of two friends embracing, and the girls’ characters really shine through. The judges compared Lydia’s work to that of artists throughout the ages who have explored this theme.

Lydia Roberts Age 13

Years 7 anD 8

winner

iSAmbArd community School

Dylan said: “I did media so that it would look different to others and it fits into integration because they are merged together.”

Dylan Fernandez Age 11

winner

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iSAmbArd community School

Tanya said: “I chose to do this peculiar idea because a patchwork quilt and linked hands are connected to the word integration.”

Tanya Cobb Age 12

novA hreod School

coming togetherCourtney said: “My piece of art work is integration because there are different skin coloured hands coming together to become bigger and stronger. It also has the word ‘integration’ to state the subject.”

Courtney Brock Age 12

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iSAmbArd community School

Amber said: “In my picture there are lots of different things like flags of the world, a globe as a jigsaw, a hand, leaves twining and musical notes. All of these things integrate together”

Amber Coleman Age 12

A word of thAnkS

We would like to thank each and every person who contributed their time to make this an unforgettable experience for all involved.

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john laing plc

Allington house

150 victoria Street

london Sw1e 5lb

direct tel: + 44 (0) 20 7901 3200

fax: + 44 (0) 20 7901 3520

www.laing.com