Over the course of three days, Years 4, 5 and 6 had the pleasure of working with Emma Shankland, an artist from Durham Banners Makers, to design and paint a banner to represent Hunwick Primary School at the Man Engine Parade on Saturday 30th June. The workshops were arranged by Northern Heartlands, an arts organisation who use cultural events to help communities engage with their local area.
The largest mechanised puppet ever built in the UK, The Man Engine stands at a height of 11.2 m (roughly the same size as three double decker buses). He is in the form of a miner, and on June 30th a short performance will take place on the Town Green in Willington as he rises to his full height. An afternoon of family fun will be happening on the Green, with our parade down Park Street forming an important part of the event. This is of particular interest to Year 6 as they have been studying the history of coal mining in the local area as part of our History topic.
On the first day, Emma worked with all three classes to draft ideas and then worked with small groups in Years 5 and 6 to paint the banner. The final product will be revealed on Saturday.
Mr Joyce, Mrs Blacklock, Miss Ross and Miss Smith will be accompanying around 30 of our children on Saturday in the parade. We are looking forward to seeing many of our other pupils and families in the crowd.