Colourful exhibition in Barrow to Better Ways to School Message

Hundreds of schoolchildren will be attending an art exhibition in Barrow next week which uses giant colourful banners to get Cumbria County Council's Better Ways to School message across. 

The exhibition, which starts on Monday, March 31st, in the Nan Tait Centre, is the culmination of months of work by Dalton-in-Furness schoolchildren through a unique arts project as part of the Better Ways to School initiative managed by Capita, the County Council's highways consultants. Children from George Romny, Dalton St Mary's, Chapel Street Infants and Dowdales worked with local artist Maddi Nicholson to produce the giant colourful banners, the largest of which is 8 metres by 1.8 metres, using their own designs. The children painted their travel to school ideas and images onto the banners during workshops held at the schools. 

Dalton councillor Bill Smith will be launching the exhibition on Monday at 11am. A member of Barrow Local Committee, which has provided Better Ways to School funding in the area, he said:   

"Schoolchildren in Dalton have worked very hard for this big day and they can be proud of what they have achieved. This is a really different and fun way of getting the road safety message across to children of all ages. They used their own thoughts and ideas about their journey to school to produce the banners, which are very impressive. About 1000 children from all over the Barrow district will be visiting the exhibition to have a look at the work and, hopefully, take in all the important road safety messages given in the banners. Barrow Local Committee has funded many Better Ways to School projects in the area and as a result, has improved the journey to school for children and adults." 

The exhibition, which runs until April 11th, will also include various displays and exhibits with a road safety theme. It is hoped that it will also go display in Dalton-in-Furness after it has finished in Barrow. The banners will eventually be used as a teaching tool by staff to get the road safety message across to as many children in the district as possible.