Primary school show artistic flair with Artile

Pupils at South Park Primary in Ilford are enjoying an exhibition of their own artwork thanks to innovative Artile range of tiles from HandR Johnson.

But it isn't in the classroom as you might expect, the children's drawings take pride of place in the cloakrooms.

The unusual display has been made possible by the innovative Artile range, which allows any image to be superimposed onto a tile or number of tiles.

Chris Moore, Building Surveyor at London Borough of Redbridge, is responsible for overseeing building and renovation work in the borough's schools.

He said: "I wanted to find a way to give pupils a sense of ownership of the school and make it a more cheerful environment".

"I believe that if the pupils feel like the cloakrooms are theirs, they will treat them with more care".

"I saw that HandR Johnson's Artile range allowed images to be recreated on tiles, and I thought having children's designs on the walls was ideal to achieve this".

This is the second time the children have been given artistic license to create a more appealing school environment.

The school first took advantage of the Artile process in 2003, when they again asked children to draw pictures for the cloakrooms.

Head teacher Mr Rae explains: "Using the Artile range for our bathrooms in 2003 was so successful, it really engaged the children and they were delighted with the results".

"On that basis we decided to run a competition between the children to select whose drawings would be displayed".

"The pupils were given a seaside theme to base their drawings around and we chose four boys' and four girls' pictures".

"One picture from each of the four selected was also chosen to be made into a panel the size of nine tiles".

The cloakrooms are used by 180 reception and class one pupils in South Park Primary, which has a total of 800 pupils.

The children also got involved with the choice of the colour scheme in the cloakrooms.

The projects have impressed all involved, including parents, governers and teachers.

South Park Primary is planning further refurbishment, and Artile will play a pivotal role in that.

Mr Rae concludes: "The refurbishments have made the children feel more confident and comfortable in their surroundings, which gives parents peace of mind, and is something the pupils can take pride in".

"The new cloakrooms have definitely had a positive impact".

Artile tiles are created by a digital ceramic transfer technique allowing photography, drawing or logos to be easily reproduced to create single tiles, murals, features or panels.

They are then fired at very high temperatures to create a finished product which is fade, UV and scratch resistant.

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