Students have a hand in building campus entrance

The dozen 14 and 15-year-olds on the foundation course for building craft operations joined with sculptor Pete Codling to form the landscaped area outside the Arena Skills Centre.

They made mounds of their hands to help him to make a hand sculpture on the right of the building's entrance to welcome visitors. It is inspired by a hand holding a tool or being offered for a handshake and is being installed this week. It measures 5ft tall and will total around 6.5ft on its brick plinth

It is made of copper jesmonite, a copper powder suspended in a bio-resin that will verdigris with a green coating.

The hand was chosen as a symbol of education, communication and skill. The main hand shape on the left is in the form of two raised flower beds shaped like a thumb and small finger and planted with sensory plants. The rest of the hand is depicted by a resin-bound aggegrate surface and aluminium edging.

The students also rendered some of the walls of the flower beds as the landscaping took shape to put their classroom knowledge to practical use.

Opened in January 2005, the skills centre has lacked any landscaping until now.

Scott Thompson (15), one of the students involved with the project, said: 'It's good to know that we have done something that is going to be there forever.'

Classmate Craig Burden (15) stated: 'I enjoyed doing the rendering because it was practical work.'

Fellow student Ben Volz said: 'It was good doing the rendering and making moulds based on our hands.'

The students attend the skills centre once a week, along with those from other colleges, as well as spending four days in the college's classrooms studying academic subjects. Craig added: 'It's great being at the centre and meeting new people.'

Pete Codling said: 'During the development of the artwork and landscape, I held several workshop sessions with the pupils.

'We looked at all types of sculpture, architecture and landscape to get the right feel for the design and show the students the many different ways in which artists work.'