What residents love about being in Watford
What is wonderful about Watford? That’s the question we put to the pupils of St John’s Church of England School, asking them to create artwork that expresses what they love about their home town.
The hotly contested art competition saw students from each year group at the school, which is opposite The Clarendon Works on Clarendon Road, submit work with the winners rewarded by having their art immortalised on the site hoardings.
The pupils responded with huge enthusiasm to the ‘I love Watford’ challenge, submitting a wide range of creative responses to the topic, with art depicting everything from Cassiobury Park to Watford F.C.
The judges, Cllr Aga Dychton (Watford Borough Council), Nicola Schneider (Head of Communities at Building Heroes) and Paul Eden (Co-Founder of Regal London), said deciding on a winner for each year group was a hugely difficult task (so much so that for Year 4 two winners were chosen).
The winners are revealed
The winning artists were unveiled at a special school event and their works are now on display at The Clarendon Works. They were: Arthur, Reception; Adam, Year 1; Cecilia, Year 2; Cooper, Year 3; Sofia and Ivy, Year 4; and Evie, Year 5. “I feel happy that I’ve won the competition. It feels great that my picture will be seen by the wider community – Watford is a great place to live!“ Evie Taylor, the Year 5 winner, said.
Anna Pyatt, Headteacher of St John’s Church of England School, said: “The entire school has been buzzing for weeks about this competition, and it’s such a joy to see them so excited and express their love of where they live. We’re really pleased to have struck up such a positive partnership with our nearly-next-door neighbours at The Clarendon Works and Regal London and look forward to continue to work with them to bring art to Clarendon Road, joy to our students, and wider benefits to the school and to Watford.”
Generating a positive impact
The art competition is the latest initiative organised by Regal London to celebrate Watford and its community, as part of the developer’s commitment to have a positive impact on the people and places where it is bringing new buildings to life. The Regal London Real Estate Academy, in partnership with charity Building Heroes, is supporting Watford residents to gain the skills to begin a career in construction through a mix of classroom learning and on-site, hands-on training at The Clarendon Works.
“Choosing the winners in this competition was just so tough, so huge congratulations to everyone who took part,” said Paul Eden, Co-Founder of Regal London. “Watford clearly has an exceptional creative community and the whole process of working with the local school and the wider community has been hugely rewarding. We look forward to hosting further events and initiatives as we continue to progress the development of Watford’s best and most sustainable new workspace.”
The Clarendon Works will provide Grade A central London-quality office space over 12 floors for businesses of all dimensions, placing high sustainability credentials and employee health and wellbeing at its heart. It is one of only a handful of office developments in the UK pursuing WELL Platinum certification – the highest rating under the global WELL Building Standard – which will make it one of the UK’s healthiest workspaces.
Watford clearly has an exceptional creative community and the whole process of working with the local school and the wider community has been hugely rewarding. We look forward to hosting further events and initiatives as we continue to progress the development of Watford’s best and most sustainable new workspace.
