Artist Rory's stunning rainbow mural acts as inspiration to pupils
An awe-inspiring mural has been painted above the entrance to a primary school by a talented Shropshire artist.
Rory McCann's latest creation welcomes visitors above the entrance to Brown Clee Church of England Primary School, in Ditton Priors, near Bridgnorth, and features drawings representing the school's ethos.
A highlight of the design are the leaves on the tree, which are made up of handprints from every pupil.
Headteacher Sue Relph said she was given the idea having seen another of Rory's creations on Church Stretton Primary School.
"I've always wanted to do something special to the school, which was built in 1994 and features a lot of brickwork at the front," she said.
"I saw the mural on the side of the primary school in Church Stretton, which is just amazing, and spoke to the head there about contacting Rory.
"We wanted something that showed the vision of the school, but also with the children's involvement and I think it's been captured perfectly."
During lockdown earlier this year, pupils were asked to send in their ideas and creations to add to the design, which took eight days to paint.
Describing the mural, Sue said: "Rory took all of our ideas on board and I spoke to him about our motto, 'aspire, believe, persevere, succeed'.
"It's about telling our story and celebrating the area, along with the wider world.
"The tree represents community and our roots, behind that is the local area with a skyline of the village and the iconic hill behind, and the barn owl represents the idea of spreading our wings to fly.
"A path leads out from the village to the edge of the land – with great mysteries and adventure lying beyond."
Sue added: "It has been a bit of a rubbish year in truth, but the fact this gave something for the pupils to look forward to while they were locked down at home made this a very exciting project and we're incredibly pleased with the final result."
