Pupils at a leading Warwickshire independent school are making headlines with a new school magazine created using their own printing press.
Junior School pupils at Arnold Lodge School (ALS), are creating this year’s school newspaper by hand with the help of local Leamington artist, Adie Blundell, using their own printing press to publish their stories.
The pupils will create, write and hand-print the newspaper in the style of an underground arts zine, featuring stories and artwork from pupils in years 3-6.
The magazine will feature articles that have been designed and created by the pupils, and will be printed using handmade letter blocks with each pupil using their own personal stamp to sign off at the end of their article.
Adie said: “The inspiration behind this new form of school newspaper comes from some of my art instillations on display around the junior school – I like to tell stories in alternative ways using signs, symbols and semiotics which we wanted to recreate with this magazine.
“The step back in time to a more traditional method of printing is something we have lost and the pupils have loved being able to experiment with their own printing techniques, without having to rely on technology.”
The project, which is the first of its kind for the school, will be completed for the end of the year with pupils meeting each week to write their stories and start the printing process.
Mr James, Head of Junior School at Arnold Lodge added: “Pupils will be reporting on a range of topics, from school life to wider issues such as climate change.
“Journalism club has been particularly popular with our Junior School pupils wanting to try something creative during their lunchtime break, and they have really progressed with their printing techniques already.
“I’ve been so impressed with the commitment the Junior School has shown to this new magazine, from researching their story ideas to writing the articles and then practicing their printing skills – the finished product will be a new take on the traditional school newspaper.”
Anna, Year 6 at ALS, said: “Each week, we are meeting in our journalism HQ and bringing our passion and creativity to write about what’s happening in school.
“I’m really looking forward to having the finished magazine ready for us to show the rest of the school.”
