Highdown School pupils’ artwork to adorn walls of Bovis Homes’ Caversham sales centre – Reading Today Online

Artwork created by two local school children is to take pride of place on the walls of a Bovis Homes sales centre in Caversham.

Paintings by Year 9 student Sophia May and Year 8 student Mo Bernard from Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre will be adding colour and visual interest to the Emmer Green Drive sales centre when it opens its doors in June, following a competition run by the housebuilders.

“It is no exaggeration to say that we were absolutely blown away by the quality of artwork produced by these young people,” said Bovis Homes’ marketing manager Alix Laflin. “We sent them a mood board showing the colours inside the show home, provided them with a blank canvas and asked them to let their imagination run riot. The results are stunning.

“It was difficult to choose two winners, because there was just so much high-quality inspirational artwork on show. In the end, we selected the bold and colourful designs of Sophia and Mo, which, coincidentally, look as if they could be part of a themed competition.”

Bovis Homes gave students from Years 7, 8 and 9 an A3 canvas each and challenged them to create their own designs. To provide inspiration, the artists were sent a mood board of the colours and textures used by interior designers to dress the five-bedroom Birch show home at the development, which is taking shape on the former Reading Golf Club site off Kidmore End Road.

Curriculum Leader for Art at Highdown Ms Garner said: “The members of Highdown Art Club have had a fantastic time designing and making abstract artwork for the brief provided by Bovis Homes. They had a clear sense of the space that they were creating their artwork for from the mood board and details provided.

“The students have been thrilled to be working as if they were professional artists on this brief and have got a lot from the experience. Our thanks go to Bovis Homes for providing the opportunity and the canvasses. I would also like to say a big well done to our students for their amazing work.”

This is not the first time Bovis Homes has supported the school, explains Alix: “This competition has helped us strengthen our ongoing relationship with the school which was first established when we gave them a cherry tree and a Scots pine tree to be planted in the school grounds last year. This latest project has allowed us to showcase the artistic talents of local students to a wider audience and to give our new sales office a unique look.”