Cracking Ideas At Bedwas High School

Art students at Bedwas High School took part in an Aardman Animation model making workshop on Monday 14 November, thanks to talents of year 11 pupil Molly Morgan. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Pupils had the chance to make their own clay model Morph under the supervision of Jim Parkyn, Senior Model Maker for Aardman Animations, the team behind films including Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The workshop was a prize for year 11 student Molly Morgan who won a UK wide competition called Cracking Ideas. The competition is run by the Intellectual Property Office and aims to promote to young people the importance of protecting unique creative ideas so that they cannot be copied without crediting or benefitting the creator. To celebrate 40 years of Aardman Animations, this year’s competition challenged entrants to create a short film. Molly’s animated entry highlighted her favourite Aardman moments and she was hand-picked as a winner by a Creative Director from the studio. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr. Derek Havard, cabinet Member for Education & Lifelong Learning said: “I’m delighted to hear of such an incredible achievement at Bedwas High school. Congratulations to Molly on producing a fantastic animation and winning this brilliant prize for her class. I’m pleased that all pupils enjoyed this very special workshop and hope they’re inspired to try their hand at the art of animation.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Mr D Morgan, Head of Year 11 at Bedwas High School Said: “We, at Bedwas High School, were extremely pleased and excited to hear of Molly’s Cracking Ideas competition victory and wish to congratulate her wholeheartedly on such an excellent piece of work. We have been aware of her talents in this area for some time and I was personally thrilled to hear of her winning such a prestigious competition with such an excellent prize attached to it. It should be stressed that Molly put her entry together entirely independently and should be commended for putting in such an effort in her own time.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Baroness Neville Rolfe, Minister of State for Energy and Intellectual Property, said: “I congratulate the pupils of Bedwas High School for their hard work and imagination and for winning this national competition. The UK’s creative sector makes a huge contribution to growth and innovation. I have been very impressed with the talent on show and the enthusiasm of the pupils that have taken part.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​