Year 6 Art and Writing Flourishes on the Beaches of St Ives

Year 6 had an exciting day on Thursday as they travelled to St Ives for a literacy and art trip. Organised by Miss Ashdown and Ms Cadwallader, the classes were split across a rotation of three inspiring activities.

The first group headed to Porthmeor Beach, looking for inspiration for their art and literacy. They sketched land and seascapes, paying attention to texture and detail, in their concertina books. They were encouraged to write down snippets of sights, sounds and feelings to use later in their writing. They then busied themselves making sand sculptures and sand art, using natural materials to capture the essence of the sea.

The second group began with a guided tour of the Tate St Ives. With a focus on the sculpture of Barbara Hepworth, the class explored how artists move between landscape, figure drawing, still life and surrealism and use different styles, media and techniques. Our guide taught us that Barbara Hepworth was the first sculptor to use holes in her work, promoting the idea that holes can be points of connection (as our photos of the children peeping through them show!).

The third group started with a tour of the brilliant Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, Barbara’s former home and studios. The children were given time to examine the texture and techniques she used to create her beautiful sculptures and explore the gardens and studios that inspired her works.

The groups rotated through the activities with time for lunch and a run around on the beach. It was wonderful to walk back to the coach in the sunshine, see the remains of their sand art from above, and listen to the children chatter about things they had seen during the day.

They were beautifully behaved and received lots of compliments from the staff and public in the museums.

Many thanks to all of the staff who helped on the day.