Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
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School pupils paint a picture of ‘hope’ to win art competition
Thomas holding up his winning picture
First place was won by pupil Thomas, from Pannal Primary School in Harrogate, who took inspiration from global events to create his design.
Thomas said: “My Mum suggested I paint a snowdrop to represent Hope, but it got me thinking about what I would like to draw. I started to think about all the things that have happened in the news with forest fires in Australia and then it got me thinking about Africa and how I have seen adverts on the TV about them not having drinking water.
“In lockdown we watched a really good film called ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ and it helped me to learn about how hard it is to live in a country without clean drinking water because it barely rains.
“I thought about hope and what it would mean to people in Africa when it rains, and I decided to draw a picture to show that. Global warming is giving us warmer summers, but it doesn’t help other parts of the world because it means less rain for them."
Headteacher of Pannal Primary School, Mrs Jane Turner said: “I was keen to circulate the competition information to our families due to our links with the university and the appropriateness of the theme of hope.
“The past 2 years have tested all of us in different ways but the sense of hope going forward has been a positive message we have shared with our school community.”
Second and third place was won by Layla, of Swinnow Primary School in Leeds, and Alicja, of The King’s School in Pontefract respectively.
Headteacher of Swinnow Primary School, Becky Naylor, said: “We are so proud of our competition winner. During the last couple of years, we have faced many challenges, so we loved the idea of focusing on hope - such an optimistic message to share in these difficult times.
“The children were encouraged to think about what made them feel positive and hopeful and the images on Layla's design show what hope means to her”
Headteacher of The King’s School, Dominic Pinto, said: “I am delighted that one of our Year 8 students, Alicja has been selected for 3rd prize in your recent art competition. The theme of hope was very fitting to the time and provided our students with the opportunity to create a piece outside of the current schemes of learning.
“Alicja is absolutely thrilled to have her work recognised, she is a very talented student, and it’s certainly something we will celebrate in school. After what has been a turbulent couple of years for our students, it’s great to have some good news to share. Thank you to Leeds Beckett University for allowing The King’s School to be part of this fantastic initiative.”
The competition received more than 150 entries from school children across Yorkshire.
Head of Teacher Education at Leeds Beckett University, Dr Pinky Jain, said: “We had such a fantastic response to our art competition, and were delighted at the quality of the entries sent in by the pupils.
“With so many wonderful entries it was really difficult to choose the winners, but we thought the entries by Thomas, Layla, and Alicja illustrated the theme of ‘hope’ wonderfully, and really showed their talents as a young artists.”
In this article
Dr Pinky Jain
Pinky Jain is Head of Teacher Education in the Carnegie School of Education. She has research interests in trainee teachers, exploring how they can be developed and supported to attain criticality, to be reflective and to become research-informed practitioners.
