EXPLORE THE STUDENT WORK ON DISPLAY!
Historical Significance Project
The Historical Significance Project has become a much-anticipated part of the school calendar.
Year 8 students focused on the theme of 'women in history': Women in Power and Politics, Women in Science and Discovery, and Women in Art and Culture. Year 7 were challenged to research a historically significant person you’ve probably never heard of — leading to some truly fascinating and original discoveries.
The project gave students the opportunity to develop key historical skills: from researching and evaluating sources to exploring how and why certain individuals are remembered. They were also challenged to present their findings in a completely different medium — through creative, often egg-based, dioramas that brought historical narratives to life in new and engaging ways.
Winners were selected through a staff vote: Sua (Year 7) and Selin (Year 8). You can see their projects, and many of the other ones that won prizes.
'Silent Moment of Shanghai City'
Joseph, Year 11
Joseph has a wide range of interests and is passionate about cycling, photography, fitness, music, and travel. Since 2022, he has delved deeper into photography, often traveling during holidays to destinations such as Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Austria, and Switzerland. Through his lens, Joseph skilfully captures the essence of both urban landscapes and rural scenery, infusing each image with his reflections and emotions. His photographs are not just visual records but also meaningful narratives imbued with warmth and depth.
Rendered in a blue-and-purple palette, this photograph captures the serenity and grandeur of Shanghai Bund in the moments before dawn. The skyline of Lujiazui Financial District gradually awakens in the soft morning light—landmarks like the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai Tower stand tall as silhouettes, while scattered lights from their windows twinkle like distant stars, gently harmonizing with the pastel hues of the morning glow shifting from pale blue to lavender pink.
The calm Huang Pu river mirrors the emerging daylight and city lights, extending into a broad foreground that evokes a profound sense of depth. It is as though a pause button has been pressed before the city's bustle begins, freezing in time both the magnificence of a modern metropolis and the delicate beauty of daybreak.
Through precise timing and thoughtful composition, the image not only showcases the geometric rhythm of the urban landscape but also conveys a unique sense of tranquillity and hope that belongs to Shanghai in the transition between night and day.
Revealing the Past
Collage, Acrylic, Pen on boardThree A4 21*29cm panels
The collaged triptych purposefully combines features of modern and traditional Chinese architecture to imitate decaying surfaces. Faded and blended colour pencils fuse with finely drawn pen on rough textured paint inspired by Ian Murphy's dramatically lit, industrial compositions. The difference in the levels of surfaces created by layering and tearing paper imitates the effects of decay or the growth of mould on rotting items. This illustrates the revolution of Chinese architectural design through time and conveys the decay or deterioration of Chinese cultural design due to modernisation and globalisation in Shanghai.
