RAPS Big Draw Celebrates Sea Life
Children and families at Ramsgate Arts Primary have worked together to create a giant mural that celebrates sea life and the shoreline.
The project was part of the Big Draw, a pioneering visual literacy charity that is dedicated to raising the profile of drawing as a tool for wellbeing, thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement.
The theme for this year’s event is Come Back to Colour and art teacher Kelly-Ann Smith found inspiration for the RAPS work in and around Margate.
She decided to celebrate the recent Rise Up Residency programme that created beautiful and thought-provoking murals around the town that depict issues around ocean biodiversity and plastic hazards.
She said: “Our children and families came together to create a large-scale drawing based on sea flowers and marine life. They then had the opportunity to use a variety of bold, bright colours to create a large scale art piece.
“My aim for this event was to not only bring children and their families together creating art work but to also educate families on the issue of colour bleaching and the importance of looking after our seas and sea life. As a community, we are literally bringing sea animals and plants ‘Back To Colour’.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for children to create a magnificent, collaborative art piece together as well as having relevant conversations about the purpose of the art work and why we were creating it.”
Head of School Nick Budge described the Big Draw project as “an important event for our school community.” He added: “There was a lot of support from our families and it was great to see them working together. The mural is colourful, bright and bold and we hope to put it on display in the school to celebrate the success of our Big Draw initiative.”
Ramsgate Arts Primary is part of the Viking Academy Trust with its partner schools Chilton Primary in Ramsgate and Upton Juniors in Broadstairs.
Contact Head of School Nick Budge on 01843 582847
The work of acclaimed street artist Banksy and conceptual artist Barbara Kruger are inspiring creative children at Ramsgate Arts Primary.
whole range of themes including littering, looking after our planet and animal cruelty. 
Head of School Nick Budge was impressed at the diversity of entries for the competition. He said: “Using two prominent and focussed artists as a basis for their work certainly encouraged our children to produce a raft of thought-provoking images.
Classrooms and the library at Ramsgate Arts Primary are gaining a new series of books thanks to the generosity of staff and shoppers at the Tesco superstore at Westwood.
Pupils already have their sights set on the visit. Sophie in Year 4 said: “I would really like to get some more David Walliams books as he is our author of the term and my class are really enjoying reading his books.”
Ghoulish games and creepy creativity gave young children a Halloween to remember at Ramsgate Arts Primary School.
learning while in the outdoor play area there were different kinds of sensory and art challenges. They also enjoyed role playing such as making gruesome food concoctions in the kitchen or making spells using the colourful mud in the mud kitchen.
Acclaimed illustrator Neal Layton has inspired children at Ramsgate Arts Primary to make their own storybook creations.
to create interesting scenes using collaging. He also did a live draw of the character Stanley, which he has kindly gifted to the school.
The pupils also joined primary schools from across Thanet for Children's Book Show at St Lawrence College. Mr Cialis added: “This was an amazing opportunity for the children to celebrate books and learn more about the process that goes in to creating a picture book. The children who attended the show also received two free books.”
and the Bug (2004) which won both the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Bronze Awards.