Our art co-ordinator Linda Short believes children should be able to see the work of real artists so we’re regular visitors to the Hatton Gallery.

The workshops are free and our school is on the bus route into town.

The children were intrigued to be in such a big room with only paintings on the walls. For a lot of them it was their first time in a gallery. They were allowed to choose a picture they’d like to copy. They loved wandering around and picking out their favourites. When they’d finished their drawings we transferred them onto a big frieze and asked them to put in what might have happened before and after to create a storyboard. They used different materials and saw how a comic book is produced. We covered all the objectives of the Picture This scheme of work in one morning. They were surprised at how much fun they had. We judge art at a different level to their maths and science where particular standards have to be met and because of that they achieve more.

ON THE MAP

Hatton Gallery. University of Newcastle. Newcastle upon Tyne. NE1 7RU. Tel: 0191 222 6059. www.ncl.ac.ukhatton