Students ‘floored’ by art project

Wed, Dec 20th 2006, 11:00

School pupils from Chester and Wrexham have joined forces in an exciting art project that will see them investigate the various types of flooring at National Trust property, Erddig.

The year nine students from Maelor School in Penley, near Wrexham, and Queens Park High School in Chester are working together on a series of workshops centred on ‘flooring’ inside and outside of Erddig. The outcome will be a week long exhibition at Erddig in March 2007 to showcase their designs and the project is supported by housebuilder Redrow.

The two groups of 16 pupils, who are all 13 and 14 years old, are also being joined and mentored by first and second year degree students from the art department at the North East Wales Institute (NEWI) in Wrexham.

All the students are working with Cardiff-based artist Nigel Talbot, a specialist in sculpture. He says: “The chance to work with the schools again through these workshops has been a pleasure. Having NEWI involved has also worked well as the degree students have been mentoring the younger pupils as well as working on the project themselves.
 
“The workshops are great fun and the kids are smashing – they are all obviously passionate about art and being able to hold the workshops at different venues means everyone gets to be the host.”

The project is being funded by house builder Redrow Homes (North West), a familiar name in Cheshire and North Wales, with schemes such as Pentre Bach, off Ruthin Road, and Ty Newydd, off Mold Road, in Wrexham, and Wharton Lock in Boughton, Chester. 

This latest collaboration between the two schools and Erddig stems from the successful Redrow Schools Partnership that ended in 2005. The two schools, one urban and one rurally-based, worked together on a number of arts-based activities in conjunction with the National Trust. They were subsequently invited to help create a permanent piece of sculpture that now graces the canal towpath alongside Redrow’s Wharton Lock development. 

Keen to continue the relationship, Redrow has invested a further £5,000-plus in the flooring project as part of its commitment to getting involved in the communities in which it builds.

Simon Parker, subject leader for art and design at Queens Park High School, initially contacted Redrow for support. He says: “We’ve worked with Maelor School for the last three years and found it to be very rewarding for the students involved. However when the Redrow Schools Partnership finished that didn’t mean we wanted our relationship to end.

“I approached Redrow to ask them to help fund the collaboration and they were more than happy to do so. For both schools, working together so closely on this flooring project is not just about the final product, it is also important for both sets of students to develop a notion of respect and understanding towards each other.”

The youngsters will attend a series of six monthly workshops until early March 2007, where they’ll get to explore the qualities and textures of surfaces inside Erddig and within the grounds.

Ian Wilkins, managing director for Redrow Homes (North West), says: “More than just a house builder, Redrow likes to get involved with the communities in which it builds and over the years we have developed a particular interest in supporting education and the arts. This project fits the bill perfectly and we are delighted to be involved.”

Redrow recently retained its Business in the Community (BITC) Percent standard, a voluntary benchmark awarded to companies which invest at least 1% of their pre-tax profits back into the community, either through direct donations, sponsorships, employee time or gifts in kind.

For more information about the company’s community support, including Ty Newydd and Pentre Bach, in Wrexham call 0845 676 0151.

For more information on a career with Redrow, visit www.redrowcareers.co.uk.