Year 13 Community Art Project

In July 2021 the Priory LSST Academy were invited by East Midlands Railway to take part in a collaborative art project with community rail* and a local artist.  The piece you see in the picture is the outcome from the workshop on Monday 12^th July with artist, Mel Langton

On Friday 25^th February a group of A Level Art students were invited to the unveiling of the artwork at Lincoln station. This included the six pieces of artwork that have been created by local artist Mel Langton with the pupils in local schools including Lincoln Christ’s Hospital, The Priory Academy LSST and National Citizen Service. 

A Level students were asked to produce a large piece of digital work to be installed at Lincoln train station. Romans to Railways will be an addition to the recent refurbishment of Lincoln station, helping to make it an attractive gateway to the city. During the initial lockdown, whilst most students were working remotely, A Level Art students were researching historical elements of Lincolnshire and developing ideas independently. On Monday 12^th July 2021 students were able to attend a workshop within the Academy where they produced an image based on the manufacture of the tank. This workshop was delivered by a local artist, Mel Langton, who has designed some of the Lincoln Imps for the 2021 trail and previously a Magna Carta 800 Baron.  Nineteen A Level students worked with a variety of media and materials to produce a large image that has now been transformed into a 2-metre by 2-metre aluminium panel displaying the digital art work. All the students are excited to see their artwork in situ, giving them the opportunity to appreciate the city they live in as they experience seeing their work on public display.

The artwork showcases some of Lincoln’s best attractions, as well as the talents of our young artists, who intend to inspire both the local community and visitors to explore all the city has to offer!

*Community rail consists of grassroots partnerships which by engaging with communities help people maximise the benefits their railways offer as well as promoting sustainable travel. They work to improve train services and stations as gateways to their communities and advance the provision of new stations and services. The North Notts and Lincs CRP covers an area of 2,200 square miles served by 11 railway stations, including Lincoln. NNLCRP is a Community Interest Company designed to serve the communities in its area. Stakeholders include train companies, bus operators, councils, Network Rail and Community Rail Network. NNLCRP also support volunteer station adopters.

Our students have been very busy and hard working here as the LSST representatives of Camps International, an organisation dedicated to working with school children to create various sustainable projects around the world. The students have been studying Costa Rica and have met with people who are from Costa Rica and Camps International. They have learnt about the issues facing Costa Rica and its people: deforestation that has caused habitat loss, an increase in pollution, and the loss life of the thousands of birds native to Costa Rica, but they have found a way to help. The students convinced us to change the curriculum of Technology to allow Year 7 students to construct bird boxes in their lessons. In fact, it is our Camps representatives who are currently setting up work booklets and tasks for them to complete, instead of us. They will soon send these bird boxes to the community in Costa Rica so that they can install them as flat packs and set them up in the rainforests so that all the birds can rest after long days of flying, construct nests for their young chicks and eggs, and hide from potential loggers. Also, the students are in the midst of setting up various fundraisers to ensure that they can do the best they can, so keep a close eye out for any upcoming fundraising events. Finally, we hope you can wish the diligent students of Team Camps good luck and send them your support in these endeavours.

Over the last ten weeks, a group of fifteen Year 11 and 12 students have been attending a philosophy course, hosted by the Royal Institute of Philosophy. Each week, the students would have a meeting after school on Wednesday with an assigned Philosopher, Isobel.  A different topic was chosen for each session, and the students would have an insightful discussion to discover both sides of the debate. From vegetarianism to gender and ethics, a wide range of topics were delved into during the ten weeks. At the end of the course, each student was awarded a certificate of participation and a book about different topics they were intrigued in.

The allotment has been an ongoing development since the idea of creating a school growing space was planned and proposed in the academic year 2019 by our Year 9 Food and Nutrition students. It has been a long journey, and we still have a way to go. The groundwork is almost completed and plans to begin growing next season are underway.

After a successful application we’re delighted to announce that The Priory Academy LSST has been selected to be a Community Champion in the Bracebridge Heath community. This means that branches in this area will be raising funds for us from 5^th December 2021 to 5^th March 2022 with the main fundraising coming from Co-op members. Every time a member shops and uses their dividend card a donation will go to the Community Champions in the area where they live. In addition, money is added to the pot from carrier bag sales, collection boxes, event days and colleague fundraising. The Community Champions is the Co-op’s way of giving back to local communities. The scheme was launched back in 2013 and since then have supported hundreds of local charities and community groups each year raising amounts from £200 to over £200,000.

We are extremely grateful for the support offered by the Lincolnshire Co-op Community Champions and will ensure that the funds received are fully utilised to establish the allotment and engage our academy community.  

We will keep you updated on our progress.

Regards

Mr Goffe

The Priory Academy LSST has taken part in the EBP Healthy School Challenges since 2017, enjoying the experience and gaining important life skills along the way including problem-solving, team work, research and organisational skills as well as gaining confidence in presenting to the judges. Following a tough 18 months and cancellation of the competition due to the pandemic we are still as keen as ever to participate.

The Academy has a whole has benefited from the work carried out over the years in terms of healthy eating and understanding the importance of this within the Academy and the wider community.

Due to the cancellation of The Lincolnshire Show 2021, the prestigious Schools’ Challenge was also put on hold, but the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society wished to continue the strong connection with schools and recognise the value of the all-important learning focussed on food, farming, the environment and sustainability. As a result they decided to offer four smaller-scale competitions for the schools to get involved with virtually/remotely.

The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society Schools’ Competitions saw an incredible 21% increase in school participation this year. There were four competitions, which included The Great Lincolnshire Tate Off, the Reuse and Grow competition, the Reuse and Show competition and the Photography competition saw 52 schools and 1,032 students get involved over the past three months from Grimsby to Stamford and Gainsborough to Spilsby.

Well done to those involved in the winning entry from our academy for the KS3 Lincolnshire Schools' Tate Off!