Blairgowrie High School Champs Board: Colouring the school

“People will ask what the promise is, and what does it mean? It’s talked about a lot more now,” - Blairgowrie High School’s Champs Board members.

This year, the Champs Board have been working together to create two brilliant graffiti murals at their school, which has been helping to develop them as a group, and also to help break down the stigma care experienced children can face in school.

The Blairgowrie High School Champs Board is made up of pupils at the school, between  S1 and S6, who all have care experience. The group was set up in August 2023 to support and empower young people to influence change and work alongside those who make decisions about the care system. It provides a space for young people to connect with others who have similar experiences, and receive support from Catherine Lorimer, Community Learning Worker with Perth and Kinross Council Services for Young People, who they see regularly.

It took time for the group to gel and feel comfortable in the space and with each other.  The group enjoyed doing baking and some crafts to help them work together, and to support them in engaging in wider school activities.

However, the group wanted to do something bigger, and at the start of the school year Catherine looked into funding they could apply for to support the group. She took this idea to the group, who then began planning what they would like to do. One of the champs, Leslie, came up with the idea of doing graffiti in the school, and all the group agreed it sounded fun.

Their application was successful, and the Board was awarded £2000 from Moniack Mhor, a charity who had funding available for creative projects. The funder also supported the group by putting them in touch with graffiti artist Paco Graff.

Once everything was in place, the group began planning together what their artwork would be, where it could go and the message they wanted it to get across. They had three planning sessions for each artwork, with each session lasting two hours.

One of the Board members said: “We were looking in lots of books for ideas.

“We decided we wanted to put the promise on one of them, as we all know about that. We have done some stuff on what the promise is and what it means to us. We also wanted the Scotland flag on that one as well.

“On the other one we decided to have the unicorn and the cow for Scotland and the path was to show hope. This one is all about the future and hope, that’s what we wanted it to represent.”

After deciding on what they wanted the art to look like, the group then got about prepping and painting their spaces.

“We had to prepare the wall first and there was loads of chewing gun in it. Then we were able to spray paint it,” one champ said. They added: “The way we did it, was that he (Paco) did the outlines and put in what colours needed to go in each area, then we painted it. It took 3 full days of painting for each.”

The project has made a huge difference to the group, as has being part of the board.

One Champs said: “It was really good for helping us work as a team and to communicate with each other. I really enjoyed that. It has helped us to feel like a team.”

Another added: “It’s great because it is something for everyone to see.

“The group helps us at school. It helps with our confidence and speaking to others, and helps to concentrate at school.”

As well as helping the group, it has also made a difference around the school. The Champs explain: “People in the school know a bit more about care experience now and speak about it a bit more. People will ask what the promise is and what it means. The promise is talked about more now. It also went out in the school newsletter and was nominated at an awards ceremony.

“It can help people to think differently about people who have care experience.”

There were also some unexpected reactions, “people at the school would look at it and take pictures, I saw someone stroking the cow” said one of the Champs.

The group are all keen to do more work like this. Catherine, the Community Learning Worker who supports the group, said: “When we first put the group together we had to carefully manage the dynamics and at that point I never thought we would  have been able to create something like this.

“So when I see how far they have some, to be able to come together as a group, build relationships and work as a team, this is amazing.”