Heathfield Primary School

On the 23rd February 2009 We went to meet Mo who works as a student mentor at Heathfield Primary School and found out all about the work that he does at the school. He offers the children the chance to take part in all kinds of exciting activities including sailing, martial arts, gardening, building and art work. We were really inspired by Mo and are glad that there are people like him working in schools in the area. What he is doing is going to be really important for the futures of the children he works with and he is so lucky to have the support of the head teacher with his ideas.


The school was filled with all kinds of creative work, at the school reception there is a photographic family tree that fills an entire wall and records all the past students. There are large 3D animals creating a jungle in the corridor and large banners in the hall. It was a real treasure trove of creativity and we are really excited about working with the school.
We have arranged to work with two groups of children at the school, to deliver some art workshops and to ask them about their wishes for their future and for the future of their area.

ABOVE BY KATIE - BELOW BY ANNA
Not all of the hands we are collecting are human:
On our visits to the area we try to spend a bit of time on the Lozells Road. This road is really vibrant and thriving, with lots of independent shops selling local produce, sari fabrics, ghee sweets and mounds of fruit and veg. As we were close to Soho Road we decided to have a wander around there this time to see what was going on. We dropped into the Community Library, which was bright and airy, and really reflected the cultural origins of the people of the area - with whole sections of texts in Bangladeshi, Urdu and many other languages.
We wanted to get some materials for our next workshop and so wandered into a few of the Sari shops. The shops around here are much posher than the ones in Stoke, and didn't seem to sell offcuts - but eventually we found one that did, and got a good selection of colours for a few pounds. The variety of shops on Soho road is great - it feels like you can find anything you want, and a lot of things you didn't know you needed. You can even get your palm read.