Children from four Worcestershire schools have created an original and imaginative artwork inspired by a locally created song to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Pupils from St George’s Catholic Primary School, Perry Wood Primary School, Crowle First School and Abbey Park Middle School were introduced to the art of glass engraving by local artist Sarah Brown, using their newfound skills to work together and create a large-scale glass artwork.

Inspired by the Jubilee song Red Arrows, created by musician and composer Helen Lyon and pupils from St Kenelm’s C of E Primary School, Astwood Bank First School, Bishop Perowne C of E College and Welland Primary School, Sarah guided the pupils through the process of creating an original and imaginative artwork.

The pupils were encouraged to explore their own creative ideas around the theme of the Jubilee.

Each engraved a number of mirrored glass discs with their own, original designs, which have been connected together to form a large-scale cascading artwork.

The artwork will be exhibited at Hartlebury Castle at an event on 30 May and at The Big Sing event organised by Severn Arts on the 16 June 2022. Participating schools at this event will be singing the Red Arrows song which provided the inspiration for the artwork.

Artist Sarah Brown said: "It has been a great pleasure to work with Schools in Worcestershire exploring what community meant to us ideas of things the Queen may do to celebrate her Jubilee. I wanted us to create a real celebratory piece, that reflected the Jubilee and The Big Sing! The mirrors used in the artwork represent the platinum colour of the Jubilee and the reflective nature is about looking back over the Queen’s reign. 

Being able to share my practise with the students was lovely and I hope they have discovered more about the endless possibilities of being creative and how they could apply this to their own aspirations in the future."

Imogen Tomlinson, teacher at Abbey Park Middle School added: “The children enjoyed their workshops, particularly getting to put their designs onto mirrors, something they hadn’t done before.”

Councillor Adam Kent, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services & Communication, said: “It has been really uplifting to hear how involved our schools have become with the Jubilee, it has proved to be a real opportunity to encourage their creative ambitions and open their eyes to different skills, I hope this is something we see more of in the future,.”

The artwork project was managed by Severn Arts with sponsorship from Worcestershire County Council.