Tigers take over Morpeth school

Tigers may not be indigenous to Northumberland, but one school has been overrun by the fearsome felines.

Children from Reception to Year 4 at St Robert’s First School in Morpeth spent a week working on Tigers in Our Town – an art project which saw the school building transformed into a gallery featuring 150 pieces of tiger-related artwork.

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“Each year, St Robert’s takes part in Take One Picture, a project run by the National Gallery,” explained Headteacher David Sutcliffe. 

“The project focuses on a painting from the Gallery, and this year the painting was ‘Surprised’, which is by the French artist Henri Rousseau and depicts a tiger in the jungle.

“We are a heritage school, and we decided to combine our commitment to local heritage and art to create tigers roaming around locations very familiar to our children.”

Assisted by artist and primary school teacher Victoria Marcantonio of company Art4, the pupils worked to each create their own tiger using a range of different media. 

The Reception class used tissue paper to make their animals, while Year 1 worked with Sharpie pens and paint, Year 2 used pastels and collaged leaves, Year 3 created 3-D tigers using paper plates, and Year 4 shaded and toned their pictures with sketching pencils.

“Each class worked with a different medium and was guided by Victoria to create their amazing tigers,” continued Mr Sutcliffe.

 “They are all over – in the corridors, halls and classrooms. We are very grateful to Victoria for her expertise and effort – the children are extremely proud of their work.”

Previous art projects at the school, a member of the Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, have included Illustrator Week, where Northumberland artist and illustrator Kate Simpson worked with the children.

“At school we value all of the creative arts and recognise them as a way for children to express themselves and enjoy success,” added Mr Sutcliffe.

 “We believe that all children are artists, and encourage them to experiment and develop their own style while developing their skills and exploring new materials and techniques.

“It is a joy to watch them take great pleasure in art, and to see how proud they are of the work they produce. They are very proud of their tigers. Each child was successful, each tiger is unique, and all of them are amazing.”