Animal murals delight Lynn pupils
Art work has brightened up the learning environment and boosted the sense of well-being for children at a Lynn school.
Community artist Nicola Marray-Woods has been working at the Fen Rivers Academy creating murals in the classrooms and school corridors designed to engage with the needs of the children and make their schooldays happy days.
Nicola, from Lynn, has worked as an artist specialising in educational and community projects for more than 20 years and her work has a special significance for the Academy which is a special SEMH school offering full-time education and therapeutic support to nearly 100 children.
She has carried out her first work at the school in 2019 – including the Welcome rainbow bridge in the foyer - and it has been an ongoing programme since then.
Nicola said: “Each item has been designed to engage with the needs of the children, to help them to regulate themselves as well as to provide the pleasure of going to school in a beautiful environment.
“The Blob Tree is based on a resource used in classes where the Blobs represent feelings and encourage conversations.
“Each of the classes has an animal name so I have decorated the wall space next to them with an adult and two babies plus the name on the door. I had great fun with Dragons Class as the adjacent wall was so big I could go large!
"The school also uses animals for its learning skills toolkit - dragon, rhino, camel, rabbit and cat."
Headteacher Amanda Fewkes said: "The new artwork at the Fen Rivers Academy has brightened our classrooms and corridors, creating a stimulating and engaging learning environment which has really helped our students regulate and reflect.”
Other recent work by Nicola includes ‘An Illustrated History of King’s Lynn’ 2metre long scroll in collaboration with Historic England and The Stories of Lynn which was turned into a theatre production with Time Will Tell Theatre and the 140m sq Harry Potter themed mural at Howard Junior School.
Stories and nature feature throughout her work which links to work she has done with the Woodland Trust, Learning Through Landscapes and as a Forest School leader.
