Facelift for London Road

8:41am Tuesday 6th May 2008

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SHOPPERS walking along London Road would be forgiven for thinking that the area has undergone a revamp overnight.

But the new shop fronts are actually murals created by students.

Art and design pupils from Oaklands created the pieces to smarten up vacant properties on the road.

The 3D, to-scale images depicting scenes of a sweet shop, restaurant, art gallery and building site were created as part of a community project to give the old Eversheds site a face-lift.

Eighteen year-old Roisin Bagge responsible for the sweet shop masterpiece said: "Im really proud of what we have achieved.

"Each group got to choose a shop front and when I picked this one I thought it had the potential to become a sweet shop.

"We had a big brainstorm and we decided to make an American candy shop with rows and rows of delicious looking toffee apples."

Art teacher Mick Mills says that he was very proud of his students.

"It was a great opportunity for professional experience for the students and to get them to work in teams," he said.

"The pieces were 12 foot by eight foot so it was no easy task. I am very proud of their perseverance - they stuck at it and they got through all the challenges."

Oaklands principle Mark Dawe said: "I am delighted that Oaklands students were asked to participate in this project. It has provided them with an invaluable opportunity to broaden their portfolios as well as enhance the local environment.

"We hope that everyone appreciates the art - I am very proud of the achievement of our students and it is fantastic that it is now on public display."

Thirteen pupils started creating the pieces in January and they were finished a week before their unveiling last Thursday.