Posted on: Friday 17 November 2023
A mural designed by pupils at Cwmbran High School’s hearing-impaired unit has been unveiled at the school.
The mural, which centres around the image of a girl in a bubble, was created by Year 9 pupils Rosie Thomas, Gabby Hodge-Sinclair and Myah Jones.
They were inspired by Torfaen Council’s Inspire project, which aims to nurture and develop young people by helping them to learn new skills by providing opportunities and experiences.
Yasmin Long and Huw Watkins, from Inspire Torfaen, worked with the pupils to get inspiration from deaf artists, including Nancy Rourke.
Gabby said: “It was my idea to create the sad, lonely girl in the bubble who doesn’t feel included as I often feel left out and not accepted amongst other students in mainstream school. The mural represents two sides of deafness, as there is a girl in a bubble who is struggling, but there is a brighter side full of colour and positivity.”
Rosie said: “I had the idea of writing ‘be kind’ and the flowers on the mural. I learnt how to express my feelings in a creative way, and I hope that this spreads positivity throughout my school.”
Myah added: “I loved having creative freedom with my painting, it was my idea to draw the cochlear implant on the girl in the bubble, and I enjoyed working with my friends and learning about deaf artists.”
The mural can be found outside the Deaf resource base, directly opposite the school canteen. It was created using brightly coloured emulsion paints and is roughly 2.5m by 3.5m in size. The project lasted 6 weeks.
Yasmin Long, Young Persons Art Engagement Officer, said: “I have been struck by how positive and kind the pupils are as they walk past the mural when we are painting, nearly everyone gave wonderful words of encouragement and compliments on the work we were doing.“
Matthew Sims, Headteacher, added: “Here at Cwmbran High we value our pupil voice, that’s why I’m so proud of our hearing-impaired students for taking responsibility to raise awareness, spread positivity and represent disability in a fun and colourful way.”