Year 1 – Curiosity, Explore and Happiness classes recently visited The Whitechapel Gallery to view the work of Veronica Ryan, an award-winning British sculptor and the subject of Multiple Conversations, a major retrospective exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery. Born in Montserrat in 1956 and based between the UK and New York, she won the prestigious Turner Prize in 2022. 

The Whitechapel Gallery exhibition is one of her most extensive surveys to date. Here is what defines her work: 

Materials: Ryan blends traditional sculptural materials like bronze, marble, and plaster with everyday found objects, textiles, and domestic crafts (such as crocheting and quilting).

Signature Themes: She is known for exploring the natural world, focusing heavily on seeds, pods, fruits, and organic forms. These items serve as metaphors for memory, psychology, recovery, and the migrant experience. The exhibition is highly regarded for its tactile, intimate approach to sculpture, drawing deeply on both her Caribbean heritage and her personal history.

The children got to explore the exhibition and were tasked with producing work in the style of Veronica Ryan, using a range of materials. The education team at the gallery were very impressed with the Marner children's questions and their choice of language, using a vast range of adjectives to explain the work and the emotions of the artist.

Speaking to pupils from Curiosity (Samuel, Jameela, Afsara and Yasser) on their experience, they said:

‘I enjoyed making my own art – well, it’s sculpture’.

‘I enjoyed drawing the artist's work in the gallery’.

‘I used bottle tops, nets, pom-poms, foam, string, rubber bands and pine cones to produce my art’.

‘I liked putting the hanger on to display my work’.

‘Something cool happened with the plaster, it made a mini island and then disappeared’.

‘I made lots more sculptures when I got home, using lots of materials including my dad's newspaper.

‘I saw Peppa Pig upcycling on TV like us’.

Here are some examples of work that they produced in the style of the artist, using plaster and recycled materials.

The Phoenix School has won the Pearson National Teaching Award for SEND and Inclusive Practice, and our Thrive Team has been part of this work through the pilot. As part of our work with the Phoenix pilot study, we wanted to share this lovely news with you.

This is a fantastic achievement and a lovely recognition of the inclusive practice, commitment and hard work that has gone into supporting pupils with SEND. It also reflects the strong partnership working between Marner and Phoenix, and the positive impact this has had on our pupils.

Well done Thrive Team. This is something we should all be very proud to be part of.

The Tower Hamlets Arts and Music Education Service (THAMES) partnered with the BBC to bring ⁠'Meet a Musician Workshop' to schools in East London. These sessions featured professional musicians from the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers visiting schools directly. Marner Year 4 pupils were visited by a professional violinist. The children joined in by creating music using their bodies and learnt about vibration. They spoke about the emotions that music can evoke. The children said that it was a very good experience and that music made them feel calm.

The musician recommended a website called  'BBC Ten Pieces' which opens up the world of classical music to 7–14 year olds. You can explore the exciting films, lesson plans and instrumental arrangements.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces

Pupils from across Marner School, supported by staff members were part of the creative workshop that took place at The Guildhall - 'You Can Build This City'. It  is a flagship participatory arts and creative project by ⁠Animate Arts (a national award-winning community arts company). The project empowers people of all ages and abilities to act as architects and town planners, constructing magical, walk-in urban landscapes entirely from recycled paper and cardboard. Our pupils worked alongside Animate Arts to design and build their own models using cardboard boxes and other creative materials. The company has now transformed the pupils’ creation into an animated film. 

Marner are through to the finals, which takes place at Regent's Hall in Oxford Street on 6th July. Marner was the highest scoring runners-up and scored higher than three of the heat winners.

Well done!

We wish them good luck.

The School Council enjoyed a trip to The Houses of Parliament on Monday 18th May. They enjoyed a tour from a very knowledgeable guide, named Evita, who showed them around the building, entering The House of Commons and The House of Lords. They asked lots of questions about the building, learnt about democracy, and they proudly represented Marner with their excellent respectful behaviour.