Year 9 Design Day and Eco-Accessory Design Challenge 2017

The whole of Year 9 took part our fantastic Design Day on 1st February, organised by the School's Art Department.

Head of Art, Karen Andrews, explained that: ‘The aim of the day is to demonstrate in a fun, engaging and interactive way that an interest or qualification in Art can lead to many different career paths and that the study of Art provides a number of different skills beyond the aesthetic.’

The day started with presentations from four guest presenters from industry, including two former pupils and one current member of staff, who described their career paths and how an interest in Art can lead to many different outcomes!

Inspired by the speakers, the girls eagerly got busy with the Eco-Accessory Design Challenge, producing creations out of paper that would not look out of place in Paris or at London Fashion Week. The day ended in a catwalk show, where the girls modelled their designs on the themes of The Elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth; The Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter; Flora, and Fauna.

Francesca Russell and Lucy Polovina summed up the day:

Francesca ‘enjoyed Design Day, because I learned that there is a way to incorporate art and creativity into business jobs, by becoming a fashion buyer for example, which would be perfect for me.’ Lucy’s verdict on Design Day was: ‘If we created these with paper, imagine what we could create with real fabric!’

Our presenters:

Former pupil Charlotte Tooth found that she could build websites as part of her Art degree course and went on to be a Senior Digital Project Manager at Conde Nast Digital in London. Charlotte’s advice to Year 9 was to: ‘Always take every opportunity that presents itself!’

Ellie Pilling told us about studying at the London College of Fashion and being a fashion buyer for Wallis and Marks And Spencer, before changing careers to become a Year 3 teacher with responsibility for Art in our Junior School.

Paul Holden described how he studied to be an Architect for 5 years and then worked in France and Japan before coming back to England, showing that Art is in global demand!

Harriet Williams, another former pupil, now works all over the world in TV production for the Walt Disney Company.