Schoolchildren unveil artwork at Grendon Co-op

Schoolchildren from Woodside C of E Primary School have unveiled a special piece of artwork they created at Grendon's Co-op Food Store.

The store on Watling Street, which opened its doors in December, welcomed children to see the artwork they had worked hard to create displayed on the new store.

Entitled 'Special Landmarks in our Community' the artwork has been produced by pupils at the school to create a focal point at the new store which resonates with the local community.

Headteacher Awen Simpson said the school held a competition to give all the pupils the opportunity to have their artwork picked for the final design.

She said: "All of the children at Woodside took part in creating artwork to depict their local community, thinking about what landmarks stood out and what the local community meant to them.

"They all enjoyed the task and the children whose artwork was chosen to be displayed outside our new local Co-op were absolutely thrilled to see it on view for everyone to see.

"The competition helped the children to reflect on their community and to see that there is a purpose in the work they produce in school and that it is valued - often by a wider audience than just school staff and visitors too."

The new store is on the site of the former Boot Inn public house in the village.

Store manager Lee Mullis has said that building links with the community has been vitally important and therefore having a permanent feature created by the local school as part of the store made him particularly proud.

He said: "We have had such a wonderful welcome from the community in Grendon since we opened the store before Christmas and are so proud to be a part of a great local community.

"I am delighted to be able to display the fantastic piece of artwork created by children at Woodside Primary School on landmarks which mean a lot to the community, and it gives all the team a boost to see it every time they come to work."

James Knight, Member and Community Relations Officer at Central England Co-op, worked with the school to get the artwork produced and presented them with their own print of the finished design to display in the school.

He said: "I want to thank Mrs Simpson and all the children for helping us with this wonderful piece of artwork and it has been a great way to build the relationship between the school and the store.

"We are looking forward to working with the school and the local community in Grendon more and more in the future."

The Grendon Co-operative food store is open from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday.