Aimhigher-A Big Book of Personal Journeys

Hesketh Fletcher CE High School, Atherton, near Wigan

Year 10 students working with the landscape artist, Gemma Gaskell, developed tall narrow collaged panels, exploring routes and journeys to create personal patterns and textures. Their symbolic use of shape and colour was also inspired by the work of the Austrian artist, Hundertwasser.

The richly coloured surfaces reflect a sense of enjoyment and celebration. Students worked on the idea that their collaged surfaces represent the pathways and journeys they will make as they aim higher through education to personal fulfillment. Students found symbolic colours and shapes to create their own maps, drawing on Hundertwasser's use of contour lines to reinforce the sense of exploration and adventure.

Individual pieces have come together in the form of a Big Book, a form that represents ideas about personal development and knowledge. There is a strong sense of individual pupils collaborating with each other in order to share ideas and create networks of support and connection.