A bench designed by pupils from a Huddersfield school is to be displayed at the Tower of London during the King’s Coronation.

Moorlands Primary School at Mount near Outlane was one of 1,500 schools to enter the competition to design a bench – and was one of just 15 chosen to see their designs made into benches and put on show at the historic London landmark.

Moorlands pupils who worked on the design will have the chance to work with global public art producers Wild in Art to refine their illustrations before the bench is manufactured.

They have been invited on a VIP class trip to the Tower of London as a reward for their efforts where they will see the Crown Jewels, take part in themed activities and have the opportunity to see their bench in situ in time for the coronation.

The competition was organised by Historic Royal Palaces – the charity that cares for the Tower of London – and the Moorlands design was inspired by the passions the school’s pupils and King Charles share.

The design links nature with the late Queen and Commonwealth. Central to the design is a tree representing the new reign with its roots joining a beautiful lily, representing Queen Elizabeth.

Each carefully designed leaf represents the Commonwealth flags. Change, transformation and hope are key messages symbolised by the Monarch butterfly. It represents the souls of deceased loved ones and is the king of butterflies. 

Moorlands headteacher Amanda Denney said: “Our children took real delight designing the bench and we were amazed by their imaginative responses to the brief, capturing the essence of the coronation in their design. We particularly loved the symbolism of the tree and the butterfly.

“Being selected as one of the winning designs is an incredible honour for us here at Moorlands. We are very excited to be working with Wild in Art and seeing their design in London.

“The whole school community will be able to enjoy the bench for years to come when it comes to Moorlands Primary in the autumn where it will take pride of place in the playground for all to enjoy and take time out to reflect.”

  • Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting