Faye Claridge, an artist from nearby Chaddesley Corbett, spent two days working with almost 80 children and their keen teachers. Together they made an extraordinary portrait of the school.

The huge frieze – which was the same height as many of the children and was over two metres long – was a mosaic of drawings, writing and photographs made by year 3 and 4 children.

Recording the school

The idea is to create a portrait of the school linked to the artist’s widely-exhibited work on preservation and time, using multi-media, installations and photography.

It was also important for the school, which plans to move to a new site in the next few years. So it was a natural decision to make a picture of the present building, filled with work by the children about their school.

The artist, Faye Claridge, said it was a bold project: "It was an ambitious idea because it’s a self-portrait in lots of ways. It’s a recording of the pupils, their surroundings and their influences. I wanted the children to be like tourists in their school, seeing things as if they’d never seen them before.

"The result is a record of how the school feels to these children.

It’s not like a map or a photograph, but a permanent reminder of their environment how they feel here."

A collage of ideas

The children made the picture of the school by making thousands of small photographs, drawings, collage and writing.

Separated into colour groups, the 80 children worked very hard in teams to achieve this ambitious artwork – in just two days.

It was a great success and everyone is delighted with the result.

It was the first time Faye had led a project of this nature and she admitted it was very hard work.

She said: "It was great. The children and the teachers worked so hard. I was exhausted after both days, too!

"It was a great effort but it was definitely worth it. The children got so much out of it and so did I. They inspired me with their really positive attitudes and creativity."

The Big Arts Week blind date

The project was part of Big Arts Week, an ambitious project in its second year.

Big Arts Week was held on 30 June – 4 July 2003 and involved thousands of schools and artists all over the country. In the scheme, interested schools and artists register and are put together like a blind date.

The artists are all volunteers, providing anything from a few hours to a whole week to inspire the next generation with new ideas and skills.

Getting involved for 2004

If you would like to register as a school or creative individual or group, follow the link to the Big Art Week website or call 020 7654 0023.

More information

To see more work by Faye Claridge, follow the link to her work on www.whitevoid.org and www.theshowingplace.com/fclaridge.

She can be contacted on fayec@onetel.net.uk.

For more information about Sidemoor First School, visit www.sidemoorfirstschool.ik.org.