Our fantastic local Putney schools have been busy transforming boats into colourful pieces of artwork, now on display in shops around Putney as part of a special community trail. Take a look at the inspiration below.
All Saints’ Primary School
Our boat shows the things that make Putney and our community special. We decorated it with a drawing of All Saints’ Church, Putney Common and the logo of our school, All Saints’ C of E Primary School, which are at the heart of our community. The boat also includes red buses, life on Putney Common, and the nature and wildlife of WWT London Wetland Centre nearby. We added oars and racing colours to represent the famous Cambridge/Oxford Boat Race that passes through our area each year.
Our boat celebrates the people, places, nature and traditions that make Putney a wonderful place to live and learn!
Year 3, All Saints’ Primary School, SW15 1HL
Putney High School
Putney High School’s boat artwork, created by Year 8 pupil Alex Nicholas, is inspired by the school’s commitment to cleaner waters and reflects its values and ethos.
Brandlehow School
Our Nursery class helped paint the boat using handprints and finger paint with inspiration using Spring colours from the Brandlehow Garden.
Granard Primary School
Our boat was designed by children in our ‘Cedar’ ASD Base from Reception to Year 5. We were inspired by our favourite things in Putney: the buses, tubes and trains; and the people in our school who are all different!
Ark Putney Academy
One of our talented Year 12 students created this beautiful design, inspired by the bold elegance of 1920s Art Deco and the vibrant green spaces of Putney, from Putney Common to our local parks.
Hurlingham School
Children from Years 3 to 6, together with several teachers, came together to make this a true school community project. Inspired by the work of artist Nigel Peake and his way of mapping places through personal memories, the children thought about what is important to them about Putney. They reflected on favourite shops, parks, and our school, as well as personal moments such as learning to ride their bikes or having bake sales with friends. Other fun themes that emerged included the 22 bus, the Underground, and some friendly pigeons. These memories were transferred onto our painted boat using permanent pen, with intricate patterns added in the style of Peake’s distinctive artwork.
The Roche School
The boat was created by different groups of children aged 7–11. All Year 4 and Year 5 pupils were asked to design sails for the boat that reflected what Putney means to them personally. We talked about the idea of home, the local environment, and the things that are important to them, connecting the town centre to the school and their homes, and what Putney means in their everyday lives.
The Woodwork Club had been collecting redundant pencils in the Art room and came up with the idea of cutting them up and attaching them to the boat. We decided they should form the shape of a wave, and one of the woodworking group created a map so the pencils could be cut into a wavy line. Sadly, I didn’t take a photograph of this, although the map might still be somewhere in the Art room.
One of the children suggested adding a crow’s nest, which we found in the scrap box. The teddy bear was given to us by the school office, and there was a lot of discussion about where it should go—at the front of the boat, sitting in the boat, rowing the boat, or in the crow’s nest!
The flags and bunting were designed by the Year 5 pupils. I introduced the idea of creating a map of Putney in the inside of the boat, simply to help the children think about home and their local area.
Find all the schools boats on our trail map here!
