>June Events / Art & Theatre / Events in Norfolk and Suffolk / exhibitions / Tourist Attractions Norfolk and Suffolk June 30, 2021
From Alderman Peel High School to the Royal Academy of Arts
A piece of artwork by a student at Alderman Peel High School, part of The Wensum Trust, has been selected from the work of 33,000 young artists across the world. ‘Pots and Vessels’ by Theo Harrison, aged 12, will be hung in the Young Artist’s Summer Show at the Royal Academy this summer.
30 students from Alderman Peel High School participated in the competition, alongside 33,000 students, aged 5 to 19, from across the UK and from British schools overseas. Submissions from the school were all commended by the London based art institution, but there was something very special about Theo’s piece that caught the judges’ eye.
The theme for the Year 7 art work was ‘Pots and Vessels from Around the World’ – students were encouraged to discover and investigate world pots and vessels throughout history and from different cultures around the globe.
Investigation in line, shape, pattern and colour, alongside meaning and purpose was crucial and this can be seen in Theo’s choices; including Greek and pre-Colombian pottery. Students then looked at Patrick Caulfield’s modern image ‘Pottery’ and were set the task to recreate it using their research on pots from around the world. This is the backstory to Theo’s wonderful art piece, of which he has already received multiple requests for signed prints.
Congratulations to Theo and his family who will attend a very special private view at the Royal Academy of the Arts in Piccadilly (London) this summer.
“I feel very happy and excited because so many famous artists have shown their work at the Royal Academy; it’s great to be a part of it!” – Theo Harrison, aged 12 / Year 7
Alastair Ogle, School Principal, says “Theo has created a wonderful piece of art, inspired by the topic. His attention to research and the detail of his work is simply superb and I am sure this is what made it stand out to the judges. It is fantastic to see children like Theo being inspired by the wide range of subjects on offer at our school.
About The Wensum Trust
The Wensum Trust is a not-for-profit, multi-academy, education Trust which currently comprises 11 schools across Norfolk; all of which are free to attend, non-selective and open to all.
The 11 Wensum Trust schools range from nurseries through to sixth form, creating a complete education journey from early years to sixteen plus. Arranged into three geographical hubs across Norfolk, the City Hub serves Hellesdon, Old Catton and the wider North Norwich area. The Rural Hub serves Acle and surrounding villages, and the Coastal Hub serves Wells, Burnham Market and surrounding villages on the North Norfolk coast. All three hubs work closely together to offer a rich and diverse range of experiences for every child within every Trust school, and to provide seamless transitions for children, and their parents and carers, as they progress through each learning stage.
The Trust has a track record of bringing about rapid and sustained school improvements and in achieving successful student outcomes. It features two ‘outstanding’ rated infant schools and, on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE), it runs the Norfolk English Hub from Heather Avenue Infant School. As one of only 34 English Hubs nationwide, this promotes the love of reading and supports Primary schools across Norfolk to provide excellent phonics and early language teaching.
The Wensum Trust has a growing, national reputation for its work on mental health and for the relational approach it practices across its schools – which focuses on supporting emotional literacy, relationship skills and long-term emotional wellbeing amongst children and their families.
The Trust’s ethos is that education is far broader and deeper than the national curriculum and examination programmes of study. It has the highest aspirations for all children within its schools and is driven by student outcomes and the desire to develop engaged, happy children, not just by exam results and a fixed academic focus. It works with strategic partners including Norwich Theatre, the Norwich City Community Sports Foundation, North Walsham Rugby Club and Wells Sea Cadets to enrich education and to provide inspiring, exciting opportunities to develop high achieving, confident, healthy, caring and fulfilled members of society.
