Around 400 students from Gaywood Primary School displayed their artwork at the Beyond the Line show, which took place in the school hall and featured pieces in charcoal, acrylic, textiles and oil pastels.

“Inspiration for the children’s artwork has been drawn from figures including Leonardo Da Vinci, Wassily Kandinsky, Andy Goldsworthy and Pablo Picasso, as well as more contemporary artists,” said headteacher Neil Mindham.

The students worked both individually and in groups to create their pieces, he explained, and used a variety of different media, from print making in Reception and oil pastels in Year 1 to ‘natural materials sourced from the school field’ in Year 3 and watercolour in Year 5.

“Group work included creating symmetrical mandala designs inspired by the sculpture work of Andy Goldsworthy,” he said.

“Year 1 explored continuous line drawings using oil pastels in the style of Pablo Picasso, and Year 6 created life and anatomical drawings relating to the work of the Renaissance artists and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.”

As well as parents and members of the public, the two-day exhibition was attended by artists and organisers from Norfolk Open Studios, along with the Borough Mayor Lesley Bambridge and governors and trustees from the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

The event followed hot on the heels of another Trust exhibition – and one in which Norfolk Open Studios were again involved. 

Little Inventors featured a selection of work from 200 students, aged four to 11, who attend Heacham Junior School, Snettisham Primary School and Heacham Infant School.

The young inventors’ creations included a rubbish-collecting robo-dog, a piggy-bank hat and an edible welly boot, all of which were on display in Heacham Junior School’s Hall, along with many other inventions and around 100 designs.

The event was attended by parents and members of the public and was staged by Norfolk Open Studios, which promotes artists, makers and schools across the county.

“The theme was ‘Little Inventors – Making Their World Better’, and the children loved having the freedom to design and make an invention that would improve their world,” said Yazzmin Tillbrook, Art Lead at Heacham Juniors.

“The children worked in groups, pairs or independently to create their inventions, and we had most of the children’s designs and photos of the process to exhibit too.”

“Many things inspired their ideas to make their worlds better,” continued Mrs Tillbrook. “One invention from Isla in Year 4 at Heacham Junior School was a hat that you can store money in as a piggy bank, and tilt your head forward to empty out the money.

“Another invention is the Barker dog robot created by Ash Class at Snettisham Primary, which helps clear up litter with a tail that can suck rubbish into a bag.”

“There was also a great invention made by Olivia in Reception at Heacham Infants,” she added. “ She created a marshmallow welly boot that you can pull off and eat whilst on a walk when you feel hungry!”