Primary school ‘incredibly proud’ of students who came together to create remembrance display
A primary school is “incredibly proud” of a group of students who came together to create a remembrance poppy display in just a day.
Nicola Shaw is the artist in residence at Kingsthorpe Grove Primary School, and she worked with the school council on this special project.
The poppies were made out of old and retired books, and the pages were hand-painted, cut and assembled. Hand-painted fabric voile was then attached to the poppies to bring them to life, and the children also made a wreath to complete the display.
Nicola’s role, which she began in September after previously working as a support staff member and teaching assistant, is to help deliver high quality art lessons.
She assists in planning the classes, as well as working with smaller groups on creative projects – and this remembrance display is the first larger-scale one of this academic year. The hope is to showcase the students’ artwork more and get it out into the community.
With the school having received book donations, Nicola decided to keep any old and damaged books for future projects to promote recycling and use of what they have already got.
“It was such a lovely day and the school council were so excited to be part of it,” Nicola told the Chronicle & Echo. “We spent a whole day painting, cutting and putting it together.
“The whole school is so incredibly proud of the students. They worked so hard on it and put everything they had into it.
“They were all so happy to be part of it and there was a sense of togetherness. They told their parents they couldn’t believe what they had made and were proud of themselves.”
Nicola is passionate about continuing these larger-scale projects at Kingsthorpe Grove as she believes it promotes the development of skills they might not know they have – as well as “boosting creativity, confidence and self-expression”.
The project was designed around two statues in reception, and the display now takes pride of place in the entrance to the school for everyone to see following the half term break.
Nicola looks forward to working with more students on future projects, with many opportunities to proudly showcase their creativity throughout the building.