A stunning one metre high frog has been spotted on a giant lily pad at the gates of Holmes Chapel Primary School … !

This fibreglass frog is a model of an Argentine Horned Frog and has been donated to Holmes Chapel Primary School by Wild in Art - the leaders in mass public appeal art events including Liverpool’s Superlambananas and Chester’s Rhino Mania that launches this week.

The frog has been designed by 8 pupils from Year 6 working with a team of Reception pupils … the idea of the footprints was to get the children talking together about the environment and their own carbon footprints and what they can do to help reduce them… 

Explains Y6 pupil Nicholas Heath “It was great fun working with the reception children … I enjoyed helping them put their footprints on the frog and talking to them about our planet” adds pupil Michael Jones “we explained our frog would help raise awareness of climate change and the damage we’re doing to our environment with the CO2 emissions … we kept it simple so they could understand and said the earth was getting hotter, the ice caps were melting and soon the polar bears would have no where to live!” Adds Lucy Pulle “We’re also entering him into the Village festival ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ animal hunt which starts this week throughout Holmes Chapel … although he’s so big and colourful I don’t think anyone could miss him!”  

Head Teacher of Holmes Chapel Primary School Mr Phil Rowbotham comments “I think we’ve all become very fond of our ‘Frog Prints’ these past few weeks - he has provided the perfect opportunity to get our Year 6s working with children from other year groups on a challenging, creative task … Everyone has benefited … our Year 6s have gained confidence and really had to think about their presentation skills (explaining a difficult concept to younger children) whilst the younger pupils have clearly enjoyed learning from the older children outside of a classroom environment.  They’ve all worked really hard on this – giving up their lunch times to get him finished and should feel very proud of their wonderful creation!”   

The Frog was originally created for a campaign being run by Prince Charles’ Rainforest Trust that aimed to spread the message of why rainforests are of such global importance, in a fun and creative way.   Only 25 were made for the Prince’s campaign - of these - one was decorated by actress Joanna Lumley and one by fashion industry icon Vivienne Westwood!

Wild in Art is the leader in the provision of mass public appeal art projects for schools and communities.  It pioneers 21st century learning by supporting creativity and innovation through a range of resources and events.  
 
Discovery and learning are central to all Wild in Art activities meaning anyone can get involved and benefit either through a one off project or as part of a whole city event.   Wild in Art also tailors schemes for community groups and outreach programmes encouraging learners of all ages and abilities to unleash their creative talents!  For more information http://www.wildinart.co.uk/