Students at Looe Community Academy have been collaborating with Cornish Tea in the hope of having their art featured on the company’s box.

Year 8 students at Looe Community Academy in Cornwall have been working tirelessly throughout the academic year, producing beautiful still life artwork which will be exhibited in their community. The focus for the year has been on colour mixing and working towards a design brief, and in September, Miss Welch, the school’s art teacher, approached Cornish Tea, a local business, to collaborate on a project.

Working closely with Duncan Bond and Jess Rudd from Cornish Tea, a design brief was created to provide the students with a true experience of working as an artist with a commission. The project, titled “Everything’s better with Cornish Tea,” required the students to produce a still life that could be entered into an exhibition with this title, as well as potentially being used for additional media and marketing purposes.

Cornish Tea also sponsored the project by providing £450 worth of materials and frames, which helped the students to understand the gravitas of the task and to know that their hard work was being taken seriously.

Students developed their skills in detail, colour mixing and composition, with ellipses - the top of a cup - being particularly tricky to achieve well. However, the students rose to the challenge, producing stunning finished pieces that exceeded expectations. Duncan and Jess were so impressed with the work that they discussed the potential to present the pieces and ensure that they were celebrated. Four pieces have been chosen to appear on the side of a Cornish Tea box, with a run of 2,000, and a further four will be chosen in the autumn.

Miss Welch, the Year 8 art teacher, expressed her pride in the students’ work, saying: “The outcomes are simply beautiful.” She also expressed her appreciation for the generosity of Cornish Tea in sponsoring the project. Miss Wood, Assistant Headteacher, echoed this sentiment, commenting that “it is such a fantastic opportunity to work with a local business and the support they have given the students.”

Keith Simmons, chair of the local governing committee, was also impressed, exclaiming: “Wow, what incredible work.”

Duncan and Jess from Cornish Tea were thrilled to work with the Year 8 Art Students from Looe Community Academy, saying it was “insightful to see their work and watch their pieces develop.”

They are excited to have a few chosen pieces featured on the side of their tea boxes and to host a gallery viewing for all of the students at the end of the term.

Overall, the collaboration between Looe Community Academy and Cornish Tea has been a fantastic opportunity for the Year 8 students to develop their artistic skills and gain valuable experience working on a commission. The stunning finished pieces are a testament to their hard work and dedication, and it is clear that they have a bright future in the world of art.