In 2024, with the help and support of Debbie Beeks (our project leader) we were granted a Historic England Bid which focused on female heroes of our local village of High Spen. It’s the largest bid we have had for some time and we wanted to make the most of it. The brief was to create a large scale mural on our KS2 yard which was bright and colourful and reflected community spirit past and present. Our children were even involved in the shortlisting and interview process and helped to pick our wonderful artist Cath Campbell. Cath then came to meet all of the children and get a feel for the school before working with each class individually on one of many local female heroes we managed to find out about.

The mural reflects the following heroes…

1. Olga Backhouse – enemy plane spotter in WW2.
2. Mrs Mary Jane Brown – knitted many pairs of socks for soldiers in the war.
3. Doctor Mary Livingstone – would tend to her patients down the mines in often treacherous conditions.
4. Annie Bessford – created the first bus route through High Spen, bringing much needed trade and visitors to the area.
5. Joan Fartherley – a famous dancer who won many awards and set up a dance school in the village.
6. Polly Donkin – a lady who brought lots of business to High Spen and would come and sell fresh fish to the village.
7. Phylis Cumberlidge – fought heroically to save the village from becoming a Category D.
8. Madame Hutchinson – wrote many famous songs and taught music to the children in the village.

The project was an incredible way to bring together our community and the community of Ryton too. This was a joint project with Ryton Federation primary school, who focussed their part of the bid on on 'the village that died' which was the category D Addison village in Ryton - whereas we focussed our part of the bid on 'the village that survived' which was our very own High Spen. Throughout this project, staff, pupils, parents and carers have all had a helping hand in creating our wonderful mural alongside Cath. The stories that have been told will now live on for future generations so that children - even in years to come - will know all about these wonderful ladies who helped their village of High Spen to thrive. Please have a look at the pictures to get a sense of the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes to create such an amazing piece of art.