MEMORIES OF THE ART ROOM
When Paul Greengrass CBE( OS 1973) visited us in September he spoke warmly of the creative freedom of the Sevenoaks Art department. It was a pleasure to reunite him with Bob White, the former Head of Art, who was a great inspiration to Paul and his contemporaries. Here Bob remembers the early days of the Art room.
WHEN I STARTED at Sevenoaks, creative studies were not high on the curriculum. However, the visionary Headmaster at the time, Kim Taylor, believed that education at Sevenoaks was about the civilised mind and that the creative subjects, not tied to examinations, were essential in the achieving of this objective. When I arrived there was no Art room. I was given two empty rooms, one above the other, round the back of Manor House, and basically left to create an Art department, which the pupils and I did together, even making the wooden furniture. Doing this together meant the pupils felt an ownership of the place; it became‘ their’ Art department with a very strong sense of community.
Like many staff, I was given freedom to experiment and innovate, including having the Art rooms open late into the evening. From that point on I was able to create a teaching methodology that was deeply fulfilling over time, particularly in the ongoing achievements of pupils like Paul Greengrass. Humour, hard work and respect for others was the ethos of the department. Pupils were encouraged to find their own way and determine their own direction which, it seems, they have continued so to do. The Art room made available approaches to art that were not bound to painting and drawing, though these were foundational to study. We taught screen printing, etching, photography, film, ceramics and latterly video and textiles – all of which were not readily included at other schools at the time. To facilitate pupils’ understanding of context, important artists, designers, architects etc were invited to visit, discuss their work and that of the pupils. Again, this was not usual practice at other schools; in fact we were the first school to host a Craftsperson in Residence in collaboration with the Crafts Council.
Pupils were always encouraged to be ambitious and at the end of each school year the Art department installed large scale pupil-led art projects – some taking over the whole of Duke’ s Meadow and including sound and film. In this way parents, governors, the school and the local community became aware of the department’ s work! I look back on these installations with great affection and still smile at the memories.
Meeting Paul Greengrass again after many, many years was exciting and moving to hear how he engaged with and inspired the pupils he spoke to, especially when he said how important the Art department had been in enabling him, and others, to find their own particular direction. His peer group
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