Young people who gave a facelift to a dirty, litter-strewn subway have won one of five TES Awards for Community Action. The pupils at Woodlands school in Basildon, Essex, worked with the school’s artist in residence, Emyr Williams, on the nearby subway after asking more than 100 people how it could be improved. The result is a mural with a border of paintings inspired by cave art. Businesses contributed supplies and Basildon Council helped with surveying, planning, and design.
The other winners are: Newport Free grammar school, Newport, Essex, for a community action programme; Sutherland Outdoor Activities Project, Golspie High School, Sutherland, for converting a disused gasworks into a community centre; Turves Green girls school, Northfield, Birmingham, for giving primary pupils an activity holiday and designing a computer model of a pelican crossing to aid blind children; Vale of Glamorgan Youth Forum, Barry, South Wales, for setting up a youth consultation forum. Runners-up were Christchurch primary school, Forest Hill, London, for a book on its local museum, the Horniman, and Llantwit Major Schools, Vale of Glamorgan, for an anti-bullying scheme.
The winners received Pounds 500 each and the runners-up received Pounds 250. The contest was run with the Grand Metropolitan hotels group, the Directory of Social Change charity and other organisations.
