Inspired by the Turner on the Seine exhibition, primary school children created banners, paintings and poems in a project which linked art and literacy. The children visited the exhibition, went on a trip to the river Thames and took part in workshops back at school.

Two London schools took part in the project; St Andrews Primary School from Stockwell, Lambeth and Stanhope Primary School from Greenford, Ealing. Stanhope School visited the River Thames near Kew Gardens and experienced a more countryside view, whereas St Andrews School explored the river near the Tate Gallery situated much more in a cityscape. Following in the footsteps of Turner, the work the children have created expresses these different ideas about the river.

The project was run by Tony working in partnership with writer/director Olusola Oyeleye (above). The project began in the exhibition where the children followed trails which encouraged them to look carefully at Turner's watercolours on display.

This was followed by a trip to the river Thames where the children looked carefully at the foreground, river, background, horizon and sky, and made their own acrylic sketches based on what they could see. They also thought carefully about the words they could use to describe these scenes.

Back at school, the children spent two days developing their ideas further through writing, word games and screen printing. To make the banners, they screenprinted words they had thought of during the river trip and exhibition visit. Working in small groups, they mixed ink colours and arranged their words in shapes which related to their meaning.