Richard Whittington Primary School pupils create pop-up art gallery in Jackson Square shopping centre

Creative pupils at a Bishop's Stortford primary school showed off their artistic skills to town centre shoppers.

The youngsters at Richard Whittington in Tholey Park used Jackson Square's community space, in the former Argos unit, as a gallery to showcase a project called Art Makes Us...

Assistant head Gemma Paine said: "Pupils from across the school were immersed in the work of artists from different times, places and cultures to use as a base for their own pieces.

"With topics ranging from Picasso-inspired self-portraits and collages in Early Years, to mythical dragon sculptures in Key Stage 1, there was no shortage of excitement and engagement as the children learnt the valuable skills necessary to achieve the high-quality outcomes required to create the final gallery experience."

As part of the project's community focus, children in Years 3 and 4 visited pottery workshops with professional artists to learn the skills and methods required to create their own clay pots, while Years 5 and 6 pupils were taught the complex process of layered lino printing by Birchwood High School art department lead Diane Morrison.

During half-term, Year 6 pupils gave tours of the exhibition to Jackson Square visitors. They also collected donations for Essex and Herts Air Ambulance and a team from the charity visited the Thornbera Gardens school to say thank you.

Gemma said: "It was an awe-inspiring week. To see so many members of the local community come together to raise the profile of art and provide this incredible opportunity for the children at Richard Whittington was fantastic.

"The project has created such a creative culture and a new level of enthusiasm and appreciation for art across the school."