Hartlepool pupils' poppy display is a winner in national contest

Talented young artists at a Hartlepool school have won a national competition for their fantastic display to mark the end of the First World War.
Hartlepool Mayor Coun Allan Barclay visits Barnard Grove Primary School poppy display. Front pupil Jazmyn Williamsom, 11.Hartlepool Mayor Coun Allan Barclay visits Barnard Grove Primary School poppy display. Front pupil Jazmyn Williamsom, 11.
Hartlepool Mayor Coun Allan Barclay visits Barnard Grove Primary School poppy display. Front pupil Jazmyn Williamsom, 11.

Every child at Barnard Grove Primary School contributed to the large work of art of a field of poppies to reflect the growth in remembrance from when the war ended in 1918 to today.

The school entered the Paint A Poppy competition run by SAA, the Society for All Artists online art community.

The poppy display used lots of different materials.The poppy display used lots of different materials.
The poppy display used lots of different materials.
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Pupils came up with all sorts of inventive ways of making poppies on pieces of paper, which had to be a specific size, and putting them all together.

The display, which occupies a wall in the school hall, also includes the words Lest We Forget and the silhouette of a soldier, remembering all those who died in wars.

Helen Reed, Barnard Grove’s leader of learning for arts, found out about the competition in a teaching magazine.

She said: “We were looking for a way to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War One and thought it was the perfect way to get all the children involved and learn about the war at the same time.

“We asked each teacher and class to come up with ideas.

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“Some painted, others used chalk, and did a 3D collage out of felt. Some used propaganda posters to make the shape of a poppy.

“From the youngest nursery children to Year 6, everybody has got at least one poppy on the wall, if not more.”

Competition judges said they loved the concept, and called it a poignant display.

They added: “We were also impressed with the different mediums used by the pupils and the creativity in joining some squares together to create larger poppies.

“Well done Barnard Grove.”

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The school wins £500 worth of art materials, which it plans to use for a future project.

Ms Reed added: “The children were immensely proud of their final display and we are delighted to know that other people appreciated their art work as well.”

The Mayor of Hartlepool, Councillor Allan Barclay, paid a visit to the school to see it.

Coun Barclay, who is also the council’s armed forces champion, said: “I thought it was excellent. A lot of hard work went into it.

“It never ceases to amaze me how talented the children in Hartlepool are, and this is another example.”