Lawley Primary School pupils celebrate £10,000 Dulux Smarter Spaces win

Lawley Primary School has beaten off competition from schools across the country to win the annual Dulux Smarter Spaces competition and is set to receive a whopping £10,000 worth of colour and design services to makeover its main corridor and entrance hall.

As part of their prize, the school received a surprise visit this week from the internationally famous Dulux Dog and Matthew Burton, star of TV’s Educating Yorkshire and ambassador for the campaign. During his visit, Matthew spoke to the head teacher and pupils about the initiative, which promotes the concept of ‘learner-led design’ and the effective use of colour in schools and encourages pupils to be actively involved in the decoration planning process.

Carol Mcguiggin, Head Teacher at Lawley Primary School, said: “We are all absolutely over the moon to be winners of the Dulux Smarter Spaces competition. Transforming the main entrance area and corridors with colour and inspiring images will mirror the ethos of the school, its staff and most importantly the children.”

“The year 5 children offered many incredible and thought-provoking ideas for the design concept, it will be fantastic for them to see their ideas materialise in front of their eyes. We are all very excited.”

Matthew Burton, who is now Assistant Head Teacher at Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury, which starred in the popular show, said:

“It’s great to see pupils at Lawley getting excited about which colours and paints to choose for their makeover. In my many years as a teacher, I have witnessed first hand the effects a cared-for classroom or school environment can have on pupils’ wellbeing and grades. By contrast, I’ve also seen how neglected spaces can be uninspiring and a challenge to teach in. I really support the concept of learner-led design as I believe children are much more likely to be engaged if they have a bright and colourful space that they’ve had some element of creative control over. I look forward to seeing the finished result!”

Schools had to submit a 300-word entry explaining why they should win the £10,000 transformation and how they would make use of the funding. The final winner was chosen by a panel of judges, including Matthew Burton and education expert, Professor Stephen Heppell.