A Hull College see their Coronation bench displayed at Tower of London

They'll be taking a trip to see it soon

A Hull College see their Coronation bench displayed at Tower of London
Author: Andy MarshPublished 8th May 2023

A college in Hull is one of 15 finalists selected from over 1,500 entries to showcase their painted bench at the Tower of London this bank holiday.

Students at St Mary's College have been rewarded with a VIP trip where they'll view the Crown Jewels and see their masterpiece.

They say it's a seat fit for a King.

Taking inspiration from teaching resources developed by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) – the charity that cares for the Tower of London – pupils at St Mary’s College have designed their own colourful Coronation benches, around the theme of values for a new era.

The design's based on different kinds of skills

Children and young people from across the UK were invited to think about their hopes for the future, alongside the symbolism of the upcoming Coronation, and to create their own bench designs as a visual representation of these ideas.

Year 8 student Isabel Fossil’s bench was the winning design she describes some of the paintings.

"They're based on different kind of skills like micro chip symbols, which I think is really important because we're getting a lot of them shipped in from different countries at the minute."

"Also there are bricks which represent brick laying."

What an achievement

Pupils who were involved in its creation will go to see it at the Tower next month and can't wait.

Head of School, Maria Stead is understandably proud of this accomplishment, “I had every faith that we would be able to win this most prestigious of awards due to our amazing, highly innovative and creative Art & Design Department not to mention the talent of our students.

I am so excited that we have been awarded a Coronation Bench, a design focused on everything we believe in our school and in the UK. Our Coronation Bench will have a place in history whilst being seen by millions across the world.

What an achievement!”

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