Inspiring the artists of the future

Date

29th Jan 2026

Employer

Gray's School of Art (RGU)

School(s)

Lochside Academy

Industry

Creative

Overview

The S1-6 Pupil Voice project group at Lochside Academy received expert advice on mural planning, materials and techniques, along with an inspirational insight into creative career pathways, courtesy of a visit from a Gray's School of Art graduate.

During their time at the school, the graduate shared their own creative journey and helped pupils understand the different pathways into art and design.

Results and effectiveness

Pupils gained hands-on, expert guidance on how to start a mural project — from preparing the surface and choosing the right paints to understanding useful techniques, durability and scale.
The session added a professional viewpoint to the Pupil Voice project, helping pupils shape their ideas and understand what’s needed to achieve a final piece.
Pupils who shared their art portfolios received supportive, practical feedback with clear steps to help their work reach university-level standards. Open conversations gave pupils the chance to ask about creative study routes, university life and career paths, with honest advice on facing challenges and building resilience.
Pupils left feeling more confident, motivated and ready to progress with their mural project.

Additional benefits

Improved career awareness: Direct interaction with a creative professional gave pupils clearer insight into art and design education and the range of job opportunities available.
Raised aspirations: Hearing real experiences — including both challenges and successes — helped pupils see mistakes as part of learning and encouraged them to view creative careers as realistic and achievable.
Skills development: Pupils gained useful technical knowledge and constructive feedback that strengthened their artistic skills and portfolios.
Lasting impact: The session built excitement and confidence, empowering pupils to bring their school mural project to life and move forward with purpose.

"We already had ideas about what we wanted to do for our school mural, but having the input from our guest speaker was really helpful at filling in the gaps of our knowledge and giving us new ideas - stuff we never even thought of. It was a nice change from just having meetings or focus groups - it was a very creative input and the speaker shared lots of pictures of her work. So, this helped us understand the process of making a mural and helped us to figure out where to start with such a large project."

Pupil Participant

Lochside Academy

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