Tile making project '˜cements' friendships

Pupils from Carrongrange, Moray Primary and Grangemouth High School take part in a special clay tile making exercise and also learn about the work of local artist Alan Davie

The initiative, entitled Moving Forward Together, involved pupils from Carrongrange School, Moray Primary School and Grangemouth High School at Moray Primary in Grangemouth.

The Carrongrange pupils and staff are looking forward to moving into their state of the art new school premise, located close to the primary, after the summer holidays and this new project is helping them build new relationships and establish important ties with others.

According to organisers, the tile-making event, which took place last month, will hopefully help Carrongrange pupils cope with the transition to their new school.

Carrongrange music teacher Lorraine Peat, one of the project team members, said: “The pupils are now waiting on their tiles to be glazed and sent back to them. The feedback we’ve had from them has been amazing – they enjoyed it and want to work together again.”

The event successfully introduced pupils from different schools to each other, breaking down barriers and preconceptions, and allowed them to engage in a meaningful task linked to the identity and heritage of Grangemouth.

The Moving Forward Together team decided to use the work and legacy of world-renowned Grangemouth-born artist Alan Davie and let the young participants create a ceramic clay tile relief which will hopefully be displayed in the new school.

Alan, who died in 2014, was also a talented musician who fused his love for jazz improvisation with his artistic creations. His early work was championed by the great American art collector Peggy Guggenheim and one of his mural’s graces a wall in York Square, Grangemouth.

Carrongrange art teacher Paula Carr researched and prepared a lesson which teachers in the various schools could teach to pupils before the big day.

The tile making was just one part of the project, which also saw the pupils make short videos introducing themselves and their schools.

Craft Pottery, in Midlothian, was on hand to support the tile making by glazing and firing the pupils’ creations and this fulfilled another aim of the project – finding ways which the schools and the pupils can reach out to the wider community.