Junior & Nursery Arts Week

This term’s Arts Week saw every student, from Nursery to Year 6, immersed in the culture and beauty of Venice, drawing inspiration from Canaletto's 1740 masterpiece, ‘Regatta on the Grand Canal’.

The week kicked off with a detailed study of Canaletto's painting, prompting children to collaborate on a large-scale recreation of the work. This ambitious whole-school canvas, which captures the bustling energy of the Venetian regatta, is currently being assembled and will soon be on display! Further hands-on artistic exploration saw the pupils design and decorate elaborate Venetian masks, complete with feathers, colour, and sparkle. Many children participated in silk painting workshops led by local artist, Sharon Hurst, mastering new techniques to create expressive pieces reflecting Venice’s architecture and canals. A delicious Italian-themed lunch provided the perfect finale to a week of creative celebration.

Beyond visual arts, Drama sessions introduced students to Italy’s Commedia dell’arte. Children explored the four famous masked characters—Magnifico, Pantalone, Il Dottore, and Zanni—learning how to convey character through posture, movement, and voice in sessions filled with laughter and confidence-building.

Across the year groups, creativity flourished. Nursery children made beautiful masks to contribute to the whole-school artwork, and Reception used Google Earth to virtually explore Venice and built gondolas using collage. Year 1 designed their own colourful gondolas, while Year 2 painted gondola scenes using watercolours. Older students engaged in more complex projects: Year 4 combined silk painting with studies of the 18th-century ‘Grand Tour,’ and Year 5 tackled a STEM challenge, designing Venetian-style bridges. Year 6 channelled their inspiration into poetry, writing sonnets and haiku, before creating their own silk paintings.

Arts Week successfully used Canaletto’s vision to spark curiosity and joy, with every student producing work that brilliantly captured the spirit of Venice. Bravo!