Art with a Heart: Working Together for Good

Leighton Park Art Scholars worked enthusiastically with the Art Department during the second half of the Autumn term to facilitate a collaborative art project bringing together Year 4 students from Redlands and Alfred Sutton primary schools. The initiative marks an important milestone in building connections between the two primary schools ahead of their federation in 2025.

For the Year 4 students, the project will help forge friendships between the two primary schools and offer a taste of the creative possibilities awaiting them in secondary school. For Leighton Park’s Art Scholars, this project is a meaningful step in their Oakleaf Diploma journey and gain experience in leadership and collaboration.

Art Scholar Elina (Lower Sixth) reflected: “Undoubtedly, the children seemed to enjoy the print making process the most! Getting the paints out and printing was incredibly fun for me too, especially helping print their first ever print! Throughout the course of this, I have definitely developed my communication skills, for example not appearing overwhelming or scary, as well as becoming more confident and authoritative. Having talked to a wider range of people, I overall feel more confident about speaking and conveying my thoughts and emotions. While LP has offered me with limitless opportunities within the community, this is one of my first experiences helping others beyond the school gates. It has been a very valuable opportunity, teaching me lessons for future life and life beyond LP. I hope to be able to participate in more of these events, in line with the Quaker values. The Art Department is a truly magical place, with any desired idea of yours having the possibility to materialise and come to life. The thing that sets LP Art apart from other schools is the amazing encouragement from the teachers and vast resources available.”

Fellow Art A Level student, Lily (Lower Sixth) agreed, commenting, “I enjoy art at LP a lot, the teachers I have are amazing and are always there to discuss new ideas and alternative ways to expand our creations. During this initiative I enjoyed watching the children’s confidence with me grow through the weeks, creating a friendship and bonds. I think my own confidence grew as they became more accustomed to me and easily asked me questions. The skills I developed were listening and keeping an open mind because some of the things the children said I would never have thought of, so I was learning more about their  thought processes and a different way of seeing things. They were mostly excited about the end product and the gradient colours that Mark used in the demonstration.”

Mark Wood, Head of Art, concluded “It has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of this mini-project. Both the LP students and the children from both primaries did themselves proud. Pprojects like this are so important and worthwhile. The premise of being ‘stronger together’ rang true throughout the workshops from start to finish, with students from each school helping each other and enjoying the positive benefits of working artistically; conveyed through lively, colourful prints. It has been wonderful to see the Redlands and Alfred Sutton students participate in learning new art techniques and have our own LP scholars become the specialists, where they are able to pass on what they know,  while learning how to adapt to working with different people, and sharing their own love and enthusiasm for art and creative workshops of this nature.It’s just as much about sharing a love of learning and being part of a larger community as it is a celebration of the joining of schools through art and design. The Oakleaf Diploma offered through our Sixth Form experience provides a platform to develop new skills in terms of leadership and creativity, as well as seeing our Quaker values lived out through our actions.”