The funds raised came from a successful art exhibition at Highfield and Brookham Schools in Liphook.

It featured work from 29 artists and four galleries as well as eight Old Highfieldians who also showcased their work at the popular three-day event.

The money has gone to the Highfield School Centenary Bursaries Fund, which was set up in 2007 with an aim to support children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend an independent school such as Highfield and Brookham. Typical candidates are children who are experiencing social or educational difficulties or children who have the ability to succeed academically if given the right support.

Artists and galleries exhibited an impressive range of artwork, including watercolour paintings, sculptures and drawings.

Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield, was in awe of the success of the art exhibition and paid tribute to parent Kaye Burke and her dedicated team of organisers.

She said: “The curation of the exhibition was nothing short of phenomenal, which was underlined by the number of pieces sold and the amazing amount of money raised for the Bursary Fund.
“But none of this would have been possible without the continuing extraordinary efforts of our parent fundraising committee and the generosity of the artists.”

Every exhibiting artist agreed to donate 25% of their sales and the Highfield art scholars donated 50% to the Bursary Fund in order to ensure that the school can continue to offer bursaries to children who, for many reasons, may not get the chance to access a private education.

Mrs Cryer also extended her warmest thanks to Knight Frank, Coolhurst Vineyards, Minnow and Wolf and Howden Group Holdings for their sponsorship and support as well as the supportive school community who attended the exhibition and purchased the works of art.

Highfield and Brookham Schools has awarded 20 bursaries since the fund’s inception in 2007.

The bursaries are funded jointly by the Fund and the school, covering all school fees, and also provides additional support for music lessons, sports equipment, school trips and uniform.
“The purpose of the bursary is to make a difference in a child’s life, not just academically but also physically, emotionally and socially. Ours are awarded to children we believe will gain the most from attending, ensuring they reach their full potential,” explained Mrs Cryer.

“These are the children we believe will engage with all of the opportunities Highfield and Brookham has to offer – ensuring they build life-long skills and develop long-lasting positive experiences and relationships.

Paul Slater, who goes by the name Fabric Lenny, creates a wide range of pieces ranging from sculpture and digital work to public art projects and collaborative schemes with young children.

Fabric Lenny visited the school and shared some of his work with Year 3 pupils, who expressed they were ‘impressed’ and ‘inspired’.

Over a five week period, he taught the pupils how to use various skills within their artwork, from continuous line drawings to digital art.

By the end of the five weeks, the year group, split into two groups, had created a final piece which was a combination of all the work they had created.

The project formed part of the year group’s PSHE learning, as they completed a booklet alongside the project entitled ‘Staying Safe’ as part of the Arts Award Discover certificate by the Tameside Council Cultural Services and Tameside Council Community Safety Department.

The Arts Award project supports individual creative development by working with young people of all interests, ages and abilities.

Thomas Keegan, Year 3 teacher at Manor Green Primary Academy, said: “The experience provided by Fabric Lenny was an invaluable experience for all pupils.

“They all loved his weekly sessions, and he really encouraged an overall love of art; everybody at Manor Green is extremely proud of their learning.”

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), in collaboration with Universal Pictures, has announced their second Create The Card competition. They are calling for UK-based primary school students, aged 4 to 11, to unleash their creativity by designing the official BBFC Black Card for Puss In Boots: The Last Wish – the upcoming sequel and the second instalment of the beloved Puss In Boots franchise.

The winning design will be projected on screen ahead of every cinema showing of Puss In Boots: The Last Wish in the UK. The winner will also be granted the once-in-a-lifetime experience of attending a preview screening of the film with friends and family, a framed copy of their BBFC Black Card, and an abundance of film merchandise. Ten runners-up will also receive a goody bag.

Sarah Peacock, BBFC Compliance and Education Manager, said: “After receiving over 1,000 fantastic entries from secondary school students across the UK for our Create The Card competition earlier this year, we are thrilled to launch this next competition for primary school students. Recognising and understanding age ratings and content advice is crucial for young people’s development. We hope this competition will help to facilitate conversations with children and their educators about the work of the BBFC and the importance of viewing age-appropriate content. The Puss In Boots franchise leans into the wonderful world of fairytales, and we can’t wait to see students across the country draw inspiration from the film series in their creative designs.”

Rob Huber, Managing Director (UK & Ireland), Universal Pictures International UK, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the BBFC once again, especially following the success of the Jurassic World Dominion competition earlier this year. The enchanting world of Puss In Boots has so many avenues to explore and we would encourage entrants to harness what they already know about the myths and legends in this DreamWorks’ tale when creating their masterpieces. Primary school students have just over two months to submit their entry and we can’t wait to see what they come up with.”

The competition is open for entries today, and will close on Friday 16 December. The selection process will be overseen by a jury panel including industry experts from both Universal Pictures and the BBFC, alongside some very special guests. The young winner will be revealed at the end of January, ahead of the film’s UK release on Friday 3 February.

Young people, aged 4-11, can enter by either scanning and emailing a copy of their A4 landscape design, or posting it directly to the BBFC’s London offices. Competition templates can be downloaded here. For further information and to read the terms and conditions, please visit the BBFC’s children’s website, CBBFC.co.uk. You can also download the BBFC app from the App Store or Google Play.

Slow fashion advocate Genevieve Devine (above), whose designs have graced the pages of some of the most iconic magazines, unveiled her Pearl Biter collection to photographers, editors, buyers and agents in the bohemian setting of Below Stone Nest, in London.

Genevieve, who hails from Chatton, in Northumberland and attended Dame Allan’s Schools, in Fenham, intends to return to Newcastle to have her work photographed for the collection’s lookbook.

Speaking after her launch event, the now London-based designer said: “It’s been really exciting to showcase my work in such a hauntingly-beautiful, intimate setting; it was the perfect backdrop to my garments that toe the line between fashion pieces and objets d’art.

“It’s my debut collection under the Genevieve Devine brand and it explores a subversive and sensually messy take on femininity, making use of discarded clothes that retain secrets and stories; repurposing fabrics and beautiful objects.”

Genevieve, a Central Saint Martin’s MA graduate, developed a love of fashion and design at just three years old and learnt to wind the spool on a sewing machine in the art studio at Dame Allan’s.

After leaving the independent school in 2011, she went on to take an Art and Design Foundation Diploma, at Newcastle College, and study Fashion Design at Northumbria University, where she won a scholarship prize at Graduate Fashion Week and designed a nine-piece collection for TU.

The 28-year-old, who creates sustainable, handmade garments typically from recycled or eco-friendly materials, said: “My heart will always be in the North East, that’s why I’m returning to Newcastle to shoot my lookbook for the collection.

“I owe so much to those who encouraged my creativity and inspired me in childhood, and I’m incredibly grateful for the start I was given by my art teachers at Dame Allan’s Schools, who allowed me to experiment, and challenged me creatively.”

Genevieve has had pieces from her Smoke and Mirrors collection – created as part of her MA work – appear in editions of British and Italian Vogue, Metal, and More or Less magazines, as well as the Autumn / Winter edition of culture, arts and fashion book Document Journal. Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Dua Lipa wore a feminine slip designed by Genevieve in a shoot for Vanity Fair magazine.

LEO Academy Trust, which serves over 3,500 pupils across six primary schools in the borough, started the initiative to engage pupils with the many different forms of art and inspire them to have fun expressing themselves.

The Big Arts Week forms a key part of the Trust’s mission, which aims to prepare pupils with lifelong skills and help them develop their independence, confidence and character through creativity, performance and sport.

This year’s LEO Big Arts Week will focus on the theme of the environment. There will be a range of imagery, books, music and dance-based activities and workshops throughout the week to provide hands-on creative learning opportunities, whilst engaging pupils with sustainability and ways to look after the planet. This will include:

• ‘Junk’ percussion workshop with Donald O’Neill, teaching children how to build and play their own percussion instruments from recycled materials.
• Dance workshop with Lily Webb, where pupils will learn a fun dance routine to ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’, delivered via a virtual session for children to access at home or in school.
• Arts and crafts session with local artist, Doug Shaw, where pupils will create their own piece of nature-themed artwork inspired by the local area, re-using everyday materials.
• Poetry activities and a competition with children’s poet and illustrator, Mikey O’Crikey

After what has been a particularly challenging 18 months for pupils coping with the upheaval and disruption of Covid-19, providing enriching opportunities for children to have fun and be creative this summer is especially important.

Each Big Arts Week activity is designed to inspire pupils and encourage them to try a new skill, supporting their social and emotional development as we transition out of lockdown.

Dominique Briggs, director of partnerships and extended schools at LEO Academy Trust, said: “We are thrilled to launch this year’s LEO Big Arts Week and give pupils a dedicated space to engage with arts and culture, something which many of us have missed out on during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Creative learning is a vital part of a child’s education, yet lockdowns and school closures have made it more challenging for children to take part in the creative activities they love such as attending music lessons, going to the theatre and dancing with friends.

“We are delighted to be running a range of exciting workshops this week delivered by expert local artists, which will help children develop their confidence, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving skills, but above all have fun with learning. It has been a joy to see the brilliant work that pupils have done so far and how much they are enjoying taking part in the music, arts and creative writing activities.”

For more information please visit: http://www.leoacademytrust.co.uk/659/events-calendar/event/42/leo-big-arts-week

For the “Draw A Robot” competition, children in Key Stage 1 (aged 5 – 7 years old) have the chance to draw a robot that they’d like to see in the future. The robot could be designed to accomplish any task or job – the sky’s the limit! The children will be able to submit a robot drawing, up to 200-word description, and five key features (labelled on the drawing). The “Once Upon A Robot” writing competition is open to all Key Stage 2 children (aged 7-11 years old), and challenges competition participants to write an 800-word story featuring any kind of robot their imagination can conjure. The story could take place on Earth, in space or even on another planet!

The two competitions will be judged by robotics experts from the organising ESPRC UK-RAS Network, plus two very special invited judges. The writing competition will be judged this year by writer, comedian, podcaster and history presenter Iszi Lawrence, author of The Unstoppable Letty Pegg. The drawing competition will be judged by Fiona MacDonald, Head of Learning at the Design Museum in London.

There are fabulous prizes on offer, including a MakeBlock Codey Rocky Robot (courtesy of FAIR-SPACE), a Thames Komos Coding & Robotics Kit (provided by RAIN), plus some unique and exclusive prizes courtesy of our guest judges. For more information, details of prizes, judging criteria and to submit an entry, please visit https://www.ukras.org/school-robot-competition/.

Both competitions are open for entry now and will close on 23rd May 2021. The winners will be announced during the online UK Festival of Robotics (19th – 25th June 2021) at a virtual award ceremony.

EPSRC UK-RAS Network Chair Robert Richardson comments: “We are delighted to be able once again to host these two exciting challenges for the nation’s schoolchildren. The fantastic creativity and ingenuity demonstrated by our competition entrants has become a real highlight of our annual robotics celebrations. We are looking forward immensely to reviewing this year’s entries, and providing a platform to showcase the creative achievements of pupils and their schools.”

These two creative competitions for young children were launched in 2020 for UK Robotics Week, now the UK Festival of Robotics – a 7-day celebration of robotics and intelligent systems in June 2021. This exciting programme will run from 19th – 25th June and feature online events, competitions, and activities for robot enthusiasts of all ages. Now in its 6th year, this annual celebration is hosted by the EPSRC UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems (UK-RAS) Network, which provides academic leadership in robotics and coordinates activities at over 30 partner universities across the UK.

The Festival will be the centrepiece of the Network’s Robotics Summer Showcase, a 3-month programme of online events in the summer of 2021 showcasing the cutting edge in UK robotics research and industry to a diverse range of audiences. Running from May to July, the Robotics Summer Showcase will include a variety of events from across the Network aimed at engaging the RAS community, helping to create meaningful connections and foster collaboration.

For more information on the competitions and activities for children available during the UK Festival of Robotics and the Robotics Summer Showcase, please visit: https://www.ukras.org/robotics-summer-showcase/

Pupils who attend the school’s lunchtime wellbeing club, an initiative set up by Pastoral Lead Miss Mallalieu, have contributed colourful drawn poppies for the shop’s display window to help spread the important message of Remembrance day whilst the shop remains closed amidst the coronavirus second lockdown.

The school’s wellbeing club is set up to children of all ages and in an effort to get children talking to one another and to promote mental wellbeing, activities ran is the session range from yoga, cognitive learning sessions to reading and writing.

Eden is a florist local to the school based in the village of Uppermill, established by business partners Vicky Newby and Jodie Bhondoo , and is continuing to operation by providing customers with deliveries in response to the last restrictions announced by the Government.

Miss Mallalieu commented: “Teaching the children about British history and Remembrance Day is really important so we thought this was the perfect way for the children to still embrace this yearly event despite the restrictions in place because of the pandemic.

“Not only this, but we also think it is really important to stay connected with the community during these challenging times, so having this display up means we can remain present to everyone without necessarily being able to meet and see people as we usually would.”

Vicky from Eden commented: “We aim to support The British Legion every year and although we can’t welcome customers into store, we still thought it was essential to promote Remembrance Day like any other year.

“We are really pleased the children have got involved and their contribution has put a smile on our faces, and we hope it will do the same to those who walk through the village.”

Teachers in both mainstream and special needs schools have welcomed the transformative art as therapy programme. AT The Bus in a BOX broadens the reach of this tried and tested practice.

The need for youth mental health support — already acute before the Covid-19 pandemic — intensified during lockdown, as many young people were deprived of routines, education and relationships with peers and teachers. When leading charity YoungMinds surveyed 2036 young people with a history of mental health needs in June-July 2020, results were conclusive:

• 80% agreed that the pandemic had made their mental health worse
• 87% agreed they had felt lonely or isolated during the lockdown
• 31% said they had not been able to access the help they needed

AT The Bus in a BOX can be delivered flexibly and with short notice to schools in need in London and Oxfordshire.

For further information, or to find out how to contribute to AT The Bus or AT The Bus in a BOX, visit: www.atthebus.org.uk

The competition is a drawing contest for children, aged between four and eleven. NYMR is inviting parents who are home schooling due to the current pandemic to encourage their children to think about what the railway might have looked like during wartime and put pen to paper to draw their interpretation of it.

During the second world war, Britain’s railways were used more heavily than at any time in their history and played a pivotal role in evacuating thousands of children and transporting them to safety, as well as delivering vital supplies across the breadth of the country.

Drawing competition entries should be submitted via nymr.co.uk/drawing-competition by Friday 28 August at 5pm and will be shortlisted by Chris Price, General Manager of NYMR. Once the top designs have been chosen, voting for the winning candidate will be handed over to the public to decide via the railway’s social media channels.

The winner will be announced on 9 October, during what would have been the Railway in Wartime event that usually welcomes more than 30,000 visitors.

Chris Price, General Manager of NYMR said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to teach children about the past as well as the importance of preserving our heritage railways. It was such a tough decision to have to cancel this year’s Railway in Wartime event due to the global pandemic, but we are so excited to see what the children come up with, and their interpretation of the Railway in Wartime. We’re hoping that this competition gives families the opportunity to get creative and feel inspired during these uncertain times.”

Terms and conditions apply. For the full competition terms and conditions, and to enter please visit nymr.co.uk/terms-conditions.

The Lion King

For ages 6-11

The Circle of Life – This activity encourages everyone to think about how to make our world a better place.

Recycling for Fun – This activity shows some fun and practical ways to recycle common items.

Costume Mask Making – giving children the chance to make their own costume masks with different themes for inspiration.

For ages 11-14

Nala’s Story – An activity that creates the opportunity to script your own scene with Nala centre stage.

The Circle of Life – Exploring the concept of the Circle of Life and helping develop an appreciation of the need to respect the world in which we live.

Behaving Like Animals – Exploring anthropomorphism, a device used in drama and literature by which animal characters display human characteristics.

All ages

A collection of short videos that will give viewers an unprecedented insight behind the scenes at The Lion King.

Getting Ready to Roar – A behind-the-scenes mini documentary which provides a unique insight into the intense backstage preparation for a performance.

Aladdin

For ages 6-11

Storytelling: Setting the Scene in Agrabah – Five writing activities inspired by Aladdin’s setting, the fictional city of Agrabah. Focus on comparing and contrasting two different places in Agrabah or rewrite a scene from Aladdin using a different place or time.

Art & Design: Drawing and Modelling Settings in Aladdin – Create the world of Aladdin by creating a mood board, storyboard, or even design a set model.

For ages 11-14

Identity and Social Media – The objective of this activity is to help students to connect and contrast the main themes in the Aladdin storyline with what is considered to be ‘safe behaviour’ online for young people.

Creative Writing – Explore five Aladdin-themed activities to inspire creative writing.

For all ages

A collection of short videos that will give viewers an unprecedented insight behind the scenes of Aladdin.

Colouring a Lamp – Print out and colour in Aladdin’s magic lamp. Make it gold or blue or rainbow – whatever you wish!

Frozen

For all ages

Colouring a Frozen Snowflake – Print out and colour-in snowflakes from Frozen. Don’t forget to answer the fun questions on the back!

Mary Poppins

For ages 6-11

Word Magic – Mary Poppins enjoys making words fun. Have a play with how many words and letters you can find in the biggest word you’ve ever heard!

Make Your Own Magic – Use your imagination to create a magical experience through the story of Mary Poppins. Write a story and maybe even act it out!

Make a Kite! – One of the happiest songs in Mary Poppins is ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’. Why not make your own kite? You will need: a paper bag/paper, string, two sticks, scissors and ribbon.

Careers in Theatre

Disney Theatrical Podcast – Backstage with Disney Theatrical Productions

Listen to a podcast series featuring career advice and stories from the incredible teams that make Disney’s theatrical magic in London’s West End including technical production, carpentry, wardrobe, and make-up.