Chance meeting saw renowned sculptor George speak to Earlsdon pupils about his work and Coventry's peace heritage - The Coventry Observer

Chance meeting saw renowned sculptor George speak to Earlsdon pupils about his work and Coventry's peace heritage

Coventry Editorial 2nd Feb, 2021 Updated: 2nd Feb, 2021   0

THE ADOPTION of a cat by a Coventry sculptor led to him paying Earlsdon Primary School a virtual visit to talk about his work and answer questions from the year six pupils about what he does.

George Wagstaffe, creator of Phoenix in the city’s Hertford Street as part of the peace trail, adopted Louis from Cats Protection.

Earlsdon teacher Shereen Whittaker fosters for the charity and was looking after Louis at the time.

The chance meeting between Shereen and George, a driving force in Coventry’s artistic heritage and its role in peace and reconciliation, led to an audio call on Microsoft Teams between the renowned sculptor and the pupils.




She said: “Our year six children were thrilled to hear George speak about his work.

“He talked eloquently about his artistic themes, their links to peace and reconciliation, and how the Phoenix sculpture came to be.


“As a school at the heart of Earlsdon and the wider Coventry community, we strive to ensure that our children benefit from a sense of local heritage, responsibility, citizenship and – of course – peace through the curriculum.

“It added a really unique dimension to their learning about Coventry’s Peace Trail and the wider values of Peace and Reconciliation.”

And it was a real meeting of minds – earlier this year Earlsdon was named as the first recipient of the Lord Mayor of Coventry’s Peace Award.

Shereen added: “The visit has added so much more to our commitment to developing values and ethics beyond the curriculum, around art, human connection, and compassion.”

 

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