We are delighted to share that work from our Infant and Junior School has been included in The National Gallery’s ‘Take One Picture’ exhibition this summer.
The Take One Picture programme, now in its 30th year, is a national competition for primary schools in which pupils undertake cross-curricular work inspired by a piece from The National Gallery, culminating in a piece of their own artwork. This year, the piece was ‘The Courtyard of a House in Delft’ by Pieter de Hooch, and over 83,000 children from 380 schools took part in the programme.
Artwork from our pupils in Reception and Year 3 has been included in the exhibition this year, and we are extremely proud of their creativity and hard work. We are thrilled to have this recognised by the National Gallery – congratulations, girls, on your achievement!
Our Reception pupils used de Hooch’s painting as inspiration for their ‘Out with Mummy’ project, exploring whether the characters in the image might be mother and daughter and where they might be going. Our pupils then produced lovely pencil drawings of themselves and their mothers, going on to embellish them with watercolour paint.
Our Year 3 pupils took inspiration from de Hooch’s artwork when creating armature sculptures entitled ‘Playing with my friends’. In their English, PSHE and Art lessons, they delved into the characters in the painting, discussed what makes a good friend, and then created their sculptures with wire, jersey and cloth. This project enabled the girls to combine knowledge and skills they’ve gained across the curriculum, as well as making connections between their subjects.
The cross-curricular and child-led approach of the Take One Picture programme goes hand in hand with our Fusion Curriculum, which focuses on six core competencies across all subjects: creativity, independence, morals and ethics, confidence, appreciation and curious cognition.
Charlotte Puddephatt, who has spearheaded our involvement in the project and leads on Infant and Junior Art, said:
“Our girls first explored Pieter de Hooch’s painting during our ‘Moving Up’ afternoon last June. It was important that it should be their interpretation of the painting and their ideas which drove the artwork and that they learned a new skill. The girls worked so hard on their projects and in April, we heard that Reception and Year 3 girls’ work had been chosen to appear in the Take One Picture exhibition. Mrs Leslie and I were invited to the private view and felt so proud to see the girls’ beautiful artwork on display for all to see. From start to finish, we’ve been bowled over by the girls’ ability to engage in really meaningful discussions, their creative ideas and their commitment to their art. Thank you to all of our girls in the Infants and Juniors for taking part and huge congratulations to our Reception and Year 3 girls. It really is a fantastic achievement!”
