Wednesday 17th November 2010 - Published by Kelly Jackson - Communications Executive
Budding young authors for the visually impaired
CREATIVE pupils from a local primary school have designed a series of stories for the visually impaired.
The pupils, aged 10-11, from Milbourne Lodge School, in Esher, Surrey produced a series of 13 tactile projects for the National Gallery’s ‘Take One Picture’ countrywide scheme, which challenges primary school pupils to interpret one of the paintings in the gallery’s collection creatively.
This week, pupils from the specialist Visual Impairment Unit at St. Stephen’s Primary School, in Godstone, visited Milbourne Lodge to give their expert opinion on the range of tactile books, diagrams, Braille signs and paintings the pupils had created to illustrate the work of art.
Milbourne Lodge pupils were thrilled to receive an enthusiastic response to all their hard work. St Stephen’s pupils were then treated to an afternoon tea, and taught Milbourne Lodge children how the game of cricket has been adapted for the visually impaired.
Stephen Ilett, Headmaster of Milbourne Lodge, rated the day a huge success, explaining:
“This has been a fantastic experience for our pupils today, as they have seen at first hand how their project actually translates to those with visual impairments. Most of all though; it has been a lot of fun and a memorable occasion for all those involved”.
Each year, the ‘Take One Picture’ scheme focuses on a different picture from amongst the National Gallery’s collection. The focus this year was on the painting ‘Tobias and the Angel’ by the workshop of Verrocchio.
A St Stephen's pupil explores the braille work created by Milbourne Lodge
