Curious Minds

Looking Forward Together - Wade Deacon

A stunning 21^st Century school will soon be built behind the traditional exterior of Wade Deacon. A new home for the federated schools Fairfield and Wade Deacon High School in Halton, Merseyside.

 

Through their Change School Programme students and teachers from both schools have worked collaboratively to prepare for this new building.  Working to capture memories from their present schools to take forward with them into the future. The mix of traditional and contemporary ideas and art forms has become an important and guiding metaphor through this work. They have worked with digital artist Tristan Brady-Jacobs to use 21^st Century technology to capture images of themselves and the building and with sculptor Shane Meadows to use more traditional creative methods to capture important images as banners

It is exciting but both schools have strong histories and they do not want to forget where they have been but at the same time they want to look ahead at where they are going. 

Nick McGee School Coordinator

Pupils said “We were given the chance to really express ourselves." With the photography they loved their images of themselves with their friends as a boy band. They said "We all wear the same uniform but we are all really different". Being taken off timetable and given the chance to express themselves individually gave them a really good opportunity to tell their story and how they felt about the big move into the new school.

Teachers said “Tristan provided lots of light bulb moments!" They loved his delivery style; it gave them lots to think about. They said that giving the pupils more freedom had had a very positive effect. Tristan inspired the students to think about the future something which is very difficult to do with year 7's!

The practitioner said “Wade Deacon is full of individual identities and this was a chance for all the participants to show each other who they were. It was a really good piece of personalisation.”

Tristan Brady-Jacobs will be running a break-out session at both of our Curious Celebrations, Lancaster 5 July / Liverpool 6 July. More information on this here...

Written by Linda Meagor