Year 5 and 6 from Indigo Class with the completed mural.

Mrs Jackie Devine and the children from St Andrews School in Breightmet have been working hard on designs for a mural to be sent to Marina View School in West Harbour - Auckland - New Zealand - via the internet.

Children's activities during Victorian times - the theme of the 8 paneled mural - shows imagined scenes from the mills and the mines, school life and the different lifestyles of the rich and poor. Marina View School will use the design and replicate it as faithfully as possible on a wall somewhere in the their school.

Children from both schools will soon have the chance to email each other - share interests and hopefully develop more project work for both schools. A web-conferencing project is being set by Mr MacDonald at St Andrews and Mr Gover at Marina View during our summer, so the children can see and speak to their new friends on the other side of the world!

Pictures of the Mural Design

Bolton Evening News

Wall wings its way Down Under by Net

A LITTLE chunk of Breightmet will be winging its way across the world to brighten up a wall in New Zealand.

Pupils at St Andrew's Primary School in Withins Drive have designed a "virtual mural" based on the theme of 
Victorian England which will be transported to a school in Auckland for children to then copy on to the library wall.

Children from years five and six have dedicated an hour per week over the last two months to completing the 
colourful mural, which has been painted on dozens of bits of paper and can then be individually scanned by 
computer to the Marina View School in Auckland.

The Breightmet youngsters have already completed their half of the "mural swap" by painting the design invented 
by their New Zealand counterparts on the security shutters of Withins Housing Estate office in Kentmere Road.

Community artist and co-ordinator for Breightmet Arts, Les Elvin, forged the links between the two schools when 
he was visiting relatives in Auckland.

The two sets of pupils have been exchanging e-mails and will be holding a live video conference once the mural 
has arrived in New Zealand.

Jacky Devine, who teaches art to junior pupils, said: "The kids have really enjoyed the mural work.

"The whole project is very exciting and we are looking forward to keeping in regular touch with the children in 
New Zealand.

"The New Zealand school has a real multi-cultural feel to it which will be interesting for our pupils."