Visit the National Gallery to see our Year 1 pupils' artwork on display!

From St Alban & St Stephen to the National Gallery!

We are absolutely thrilled to share some incredible news with our school community in more detail! Last year, our Reception classes (now Year 1)  took part in the prestigious 'Take One Picture' programme run by the National Gallery in London.

Our young artists dived headfirst into Canaletto’s famous painting, Regatta on the Grand Canal, and their exploration took them on a truly remarkable cross-curricular journey.

The children didn't just look at the painting—they lived it! Their learning stretched far and wide across the curriculum. In fact, one of the experts at the National Gallery told us that they could not believe how much cross-curricular learning such young children had carried out inspired by a single painting!

• Science & Physics: Believe it or not, our Reception pupils used the regatta's boats to explore Newton's laws of motion!

• Languages: The children brushed up on their language skills and practiced speaking Italian.

• Art Techniques: After making detailed drawings inspired by Canaletto's work, the children experimented with unique creative techniques, including bubble-printing, to capture the texture and movement of the Venetian waters.

To create their final masterpiece, the children combined all of their individual artistic discoveries to create a stunning, collaborative final collage. We could not believe it when we learnt that we were one of the 35 schools selected out of 362 schools to exhibit our artwork at the National Gallery.

A huge thank you to Mrs Ashworth (Yva Jung), one of our incredibly talented parents, who led the project and inspired us all with her artistic vision.

I'm very proud of the Reception children for creating the amazing collaborative artwork. This was our school's first time taking part in the Take One Picture project and it was a hugely valuable experience for the children to have a deep dive into creativity while exploring new ways of making art. They particularly enjoyed the cross-curricular activities such as learning about Newton's Laws of Motion and Italy. I'm incredibly grateful that our children's artwork will be exhibited at the National Gallery and through this, I hope that the students will have a memorable experience that they will always cherish. 

                                                                                                                                                      Mrs Ashworth (Yva Jung)

The excitement didn't stop there. Our pupils so thoroughly impressed the judges that our school was even selected to appear in the official National Gallery film explaining the painting! 

//www.youtube.com/embed/5L1uYOjwhYw#t=0.5

Mrs Duffey, Mrs Cooper and Ms Hackett had the privilege of attending the exhibition's grand opening ceremony in London.

What next?

Building on last year's incredible success, we are thrilled to share how we are extending the project this year. This time, we are taking a collaborative approach by bringing our Year 3 and Reception classes together. Inspired by this year's National Gallery focus painting, 'A Muse' by Cosimo Tura, our pupils have taken part in exciting creative activities, for example, egg tempera painting, acrylic painting and gold leaf gilding as well as cross-curricular sessions such as 'International History of Animal Myth' and 'Greek Culture and Mythology/Muse', collective poem writing, and a science session on 'Materiality/ Why materials crack?' . 

Visit the Exhibition

The exhibition is now officially open, and we could not be prouder of our talented young pupils. If you are in London, please go and see our children's hard work shining brightly on the walls of one of the world's greatest art galleries!

The Take One Picture exhibition is on display at the National Gallery Roden Centre for Creative Learning, Orange Street, London, WC2H 7HS until 31st August 2026. As well as looking at our collage and all the other lovely artwork created by schools, watch out for the lift doors, where our collage is also displayed, and for the film which is being projected onto the wall of the Welcome Space. You can then pop into the National Gallery to view the stunning original Canaletto painting.

A massive congratulations to all of our children, and a huge thank you to the staff and to Mrs Ashworth for guiding them through this unforgettable achievement.

Take One Picture