Ashby Willesley Primary School 50 year mosaic
The Head Teacher Sue Rainbow wanted to create a mosaic to celebrate the School’s 50th year golden anniversary. She wanted to engage the whole school with the process and all 420 pupils and staff to be hands on. The idea of a golden apple was the starting point and children completed their own individual drawings of what they thought was special about the school. We used these drawings to decide on the themes of the mosaic – music, art, sport, friendship, learning and of course a rainbow! We also looked at the names of the classes – Treetops, Acorn and Oak along with the School logo – Ashby Castle.
We created 14 mosaics in total with each year class having their own mosaic to work on and identify with. I worked with 4 children at a time and then rotated until we had got through every pupil in school, bringing in members of staff to lay down a few tiles too! The project took a whirlwind 7 days of in-school workshops before taking the mosaics back to the studio for grouting. The mosaics were delivered back to school a week or two later and presented in a school assembly. These now feature as a collective grouping in the main hall for everyone to be proud of.
“Thank you for a wonderful experience in helping us create our 5oth Anniversary mosaic. The children were thoroughly involved in the whole experience and you superbly used their designs to inspire the many panels worked on. All members of the school community were part of the creation and were enthralled by the images that emerged. You have a calm and gentle way that encourages all and the patience of a saint. Thank you so very much for working with us on our new legacy”
Sue Rainbow, Ashby Willesley Primary School
