Thursday June 18th 2026 Harry Venning the renowned cartoonist delivered a morning of wonderfully enjoyable and inspiring workshops to one hundred and twelve pupils at three Cranleigh schools, funded by the Arts Society Cranleigh. To read the full review follow the link below Harry Venning Glebelands Year 11 visit to Watts Gallery 29th January 2026 Press here for a link to read the illustrated report A Face in the Trees April 2025 The Arts Society Cranleigh Young Arts Volunteering team in partnership with the Knowle Park Trust and Sussex based wood sculptor and carver, Ella Fielding, launched a competition last Autumn called ‘A Face in the Trees’ to all the pupils of Cranleigh’s schools, from Years 1 to 13. PRESS to read a full report on the project . IMAGES MORE IMAGES
Young Arts Review for 2024 The team had a very active and successful 2024 and some exciting plans for the coming year. Please follow thr link to read a full colour review. Young Arts 2024
An article written by Watts Gallery about our Glebelands Visit Please follow the link to read the article Watts Gallery article Watts Gallery/Glebelands School Visit - January 2024 On a cold and frosty morning in January, the TASC Young Arts team, using part of the Community Grant we received from the Arts Society, took 28 Year 11 students from Glebelands School, Cranleigh to visit Watts Gallery, Compton, Guildford for a tour and a ceramic workshop. They were accompanied by Heather Head and Geraldine Ritchie, two members of the volunteering team, who have co-written this interesting account of the visit. Arriving at 10am, the pupils called into view the Watts Gallery Chapel on their way to the main gallery so they could see the amazing plaster tiles produced by Mary Watts. The pupils had recently been given the list of topics they could chose as the subject of their ten hour GCSE examination they will sit before Easter. The pupils will produce a workbook that will include the ideas and inspiration they collected at this visit as part of their submission in the exam. We all gathered at the gallery entrance and after a quick briefing about the day, we started off by walking up the hill to Limmerslease House, the home of George and Mary Watts. Outside the house our Guide gave us a brief history of the couple and their reason for settling outside London, which was to get away from the London smog. We started in the living rooms of the house. We admired the house and the rooms with lovely views of the woods which helped to give Mary a lot of inspiration for producing the incredible plaster ceiling tiles and she also included symbols of various religions she had seen when they travelled extensively abroad on their honeymoon. The pupils sat and copied some of the designs. One feature of the room was a niche with a day bed where George used to rest in the evening while Mary read to him. We then moved on to view Mary’s studio where we found a lot of examples of her work and a model of the Chapel she had designed and built using local people, who she had taken on as apprentices. The pupils were encouraged to explore the room and identify all the various materials Mary had worked with. There were also many artefacts for the students to study and sketch. We then walked across the corridor to see the studio belonging to George Watts. There were examples of his work on display including a portrait of Florence Nightingale. Our guide gave the pupils an explanation about the pigments he used. We also looked at the ingenious pulley system he used to raise and lower the large canvasses so he could continue to paint while standing on the floor. After a quick lunch break we were taken to the pottery studio, here the pupils were provided with clay and equipment to make their own pottery tile. After being shown how to make a tile, the students set to and made some very attractive tiles of their own, some copying patterns and some creating their own versions. They were also encouraged to use their sketches and photographs as a design source. Photos of the tile will be included in the pupil’s workbooks. Our next stop was the Contemporary Exhibition, The Joy of Print. The curator explained the process of printing them including wood cuts, lino prints and screen printing and they studied the various styles. They then had time to look round the shop. Our final stop was in the Sculpture Gallery, with the huge gesso sculptures, that Watts had created. Again a good opportunity for them to draw some of the models of body parts etc. We were also given a talk by two young ladies who had been taking photographs of us to promote school visits. It is so satisfying for the Volunteering team to know that the students enjoyed themselves and were inspired and encouraged to learn new skills and that this visit contributes towards their GSCE exam. We also hope that they have gained some great ideas for their assignments. We are thrilled that we are able to give local students these opportunities with the support of The Arts Society Cranleigh and the Community Grant. The Watts Gallery is based at Downs Lane, Compton, Guildford, GU3 1DQ and is open daily including Bank Holidays from 10.30am - 5pm. It is a well worth a visit if you have not been as plenty to see and a lovely tea room too! (PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE VISIT ARE POSTED IN THE GALLEY) Coronation Bunting Design Competition - April 2023 In April, to celebrate the King’s Coronation, the Arts Society Cranleigh Young Arts team launched a competition to design original, imaginative, colourful bunting representing King Charles and his monarchy. The competition was issued to the Primary Schools and St.Cuthbert Mayne rose to the challenge and entered some really fun and colourful designs. The winner of the 6-8 year age category produced a striking portrait of the King, possibly in his younger years! We loved the drawing style and composition. The winner of the 4-5 year age category created a beautiful Crown with sparkling jewels which captured our imaginations. Congratulations to our winners and well down to all the pupils who entered. All the entrants received a Coronation chocolate lolly and the winners each received a book about King Charles. Diana Kay Please visit the GALLERY page to see the winning bunting
Cranleigh Seven Schools Art Exhibition - 6h - 18th May 2023 Text by Diana Kay Photographs of the exhibiton are displayed in the GALLERY The Arts Society Cranleigh Arts Volunteering team and Cranleigh Arts Centre have joined forces again to sponsor a brilliant, vibrant display of artwork from all seven of Cranleigh’s schools. This popular event brings together the talent and skills of local young artists, aged five to eighteen, in an impressive collection of paintings, sculpture and mixed media. This exhibition gave them the opportunity to showcase their creative work to the local and wider community. Many of the exhibits this year have been inspired by famous artists and art movements. Cranleigh Primary Year 4 explored artists who create still life paintings such as Cezanne and were inspired by the work of Maureen Crosbie to create a still life collage using watercolour and poster paints. Year 5 studied the artists The Shoreditch Sketcher and Kittie Jones, observing how the artists had created both urban and rural pictures using a range of mixed media often combining them in inventive ways, to capture the energy and spirit of the land and cityscapes. Park Mead Year Six showcased fantastic, colourful portraits inspired by the Photorealism of Chuck Close (1940-2021). He was an American artist best known for his large-scale Photorealist portraits, composed of tiny airbrush bursts, thumbprints and looping multicoloured brushstrokes. St. Cuthbert Mayne Year Two exhibited colourful views of Leith Hill, using tissue paper for their collages and created abstract maps experimenting with colour. Year Six created some stunning self portraits inspired by the photo realism of Chuck Close. St. Joseph The pupils created colourful, geometric collages in the style of muralist Eloisa Henderson-Figueroa. Eloisa is a Chilean/Scottish artist born in London with a love of colour and shape. Cranleigh Prep As part of their sculpture project, the pupils in Year Five were given the task of producing a watercolour sketch from a photograph of their chosen bird to enable them to get to know their subject matter in detail before working in 3D. The project moved on to creating beautiful models from chicken wire and paper mâché – using both kitchen roll and newspaper - that are both colourful and characterful. Cranleigh School The Art Department showcased a selection of inspirational and dynamic work created by students in Years Nine, Ten and Twelve. Featuring artwork from each of the School’s Printmaking, Painting, Sculpture and Photography studios. Glebelands School Mixed year groups produced a vibrant, dynamic, colourful display of inspiring artwork including portraits and nature studies.
The Arts Volunteering team were thrilled to see pupils embrace artist's styles, to take inspiration from what they have learnt and create their own stunning artwork. We were truly impressed by the quality of work on display and to discover that Cranleigh has a lot of talented young artists in the village. We hope their passion for art continues to grow over the years.
10TH TO 19TH MAY 2022 Text by Diana Kay The Arts Society Cranleigh Arts Volunteering team and Cranleigh Arts Centre joined forces to sponsor a brilliant, vibrant display of artwork from all seven of Cranleigh’s schools. This popular event has returned for the first time since 2019, highlighting the talent and skills of local young artists, aged five to eighteen, in an impressive collection of paintings, 3D pieces and photography. This exhibition gave them the opportunity to showcase their creative work to the local and wider community. Many of the exhibits this year have been inspired by famous artists and art movements. Cranleigh Primary Year One focused on watercolour techniques producing ocean backgrounds to place their Rainbow Fish in, before developing paper folding and collage skills. This was linked to the theme of Friendship inspired by the Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Year 3 investigated flowers drawn by Georgia O’Keeffe before sketching their own from real life observation and paintings. Year Six chose their own medium for their artwork on ‘Sowing the Seeds of Change’; offering their unique perspective on how issues like climate change, deforestation and single use plastics are affecting our amazing world. Park Mead Year Five produced a vibrant display of self-portraits in the style of Fauvism and some colourful studies of Dragon’s Eyes. Year Four used their hands to produce some fabulous sculptures inspired by Barbara Hepworth. St. Cuthbert Mayne Year One learnt about the work of Piet Mondrian and created their own colourful abstract collages. Year Four were inspired by the artist Jean-Michael Basquit, whose paintings often featured unusual portraits, with scrawled text and symbols. They created their own portraits in the style of the artist using various elements, such as colour, pattern and texture. They also produced some bold, graphic tree silhouettes against striking colour backgrounds inspired by the artist Megan Aroon Duncanson. St. Joseph students were given a picture of a horse to incorporate into their paintings and each have created a different background resulting in a variety of colours and expression. Cranleigh Prep produced a collection of charcoal drawings and soap sculptures created as part of a study into the work of Barbara Hepworth. The children were encouraged to explore how to express 3D form using close observation of tonal value in a 2D drawing. Cranleigh School Year Ten and Twelve produced a spirited collection of artwork to show the use of different media; acrylic on canvas, photography, screen printing, mixed media and ceramics. Glebelands School Year Eight students studied Pop Art, focusing on artists Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Using inspiration from Warhol’s Campbell soup can, the students created their own collage of a Heinz Beanz can. Year Ten students focused on the theme “Identity”. Using a variety of media, they drew their facial features and took photos of sections of their face. They looked at artist Hermann Scherer for his black and white prints and portraiture paintings. MC Escher is also studied focusing on his tessellating patterns. Using inspiration from their drawings, photos and the artists studied, they then created their own mono prints of sections of their face. Year Eleven students work independently to build up a portfolio of work. Taking inspiration from different artists they develop their work to create unique final compositions. It is truly encouraging for the Arts Volunteering team to see pupils embrace these artists’ styles, to take inspiration from what they have learnt and create their own stunning artwork. We were truly impressed by the quality of work on display and to discover that Cranleigh has a lot of talented young artists in the village. We hope their passion for art continues to grow over the years.
YOUNG ARTS REPORT 2020 Unfortunately due to the pandemic the Young Arts team were unable to work much with the Cranleigh schools during the last year. We had planned quite a few exciting projects but sadly they were put on hold to allow the schools to catch up with the curriculum. POSTER DESIGN COMPETITION We did launch a poster design competition in March with the Art Club of Glebelands School and were very much looking forward to working with them on their designs for a poster to promote the benefits of coming to visit Cranleigh. The students had just started on some inspirational ideas and then the the first lockdown hit, so the project was suspended but we are hoping that when the time is right it might resume. RBA STAR STUDENT 2020‑21 The last few years we have entered work by a pupil from Cranleigh School, which is the only local school with a Sixth Form and so eligible to participate in this prestigious national competition, first established in 1949. Twenty artworks are selected by the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) for their annual exhibition in London. We are delighted to report that Katie St Johnston was selected with her painting ‘Narcissus’. We are thrilled that we were able to give Katie this opportunity, and even more delighted that her painting has been selected for the online exhibition. The online exhibition hosted by The Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) includes Katie's own commentary on her painting and can now be viewed on this link:
https://www.rosl.org.uk/starstudents2021
YOUNG ARTS ACTIVITIES 2019 Highlights of the year have included sponsoring a further one-day workshop for Glebelands School students at the Watts Gallery, launching a competition for local Year 5 pupils to design a website promoting Cranleigh as a place to live or visit, and our annual Seven Schools’ Art Exhibition. Glebelands School’s workshop at Watts Gallery |