Poet works with academy to create mural

The ‘Rainbow Wall’ is a permanent reflection on the current crisis and how the local community has pulled together and helped each other through it.

North Ormesby Primary Academy in Middlesbrough has been supporting its school community through a variety of initiatives, notably by giving out iPads to every child and through its weekly Eco-Shop, where parents and carers can purchase everything from groceries to school clothing.

The mural will act as a lasting reminder of these acts of support and kindness.

It is a way to share these experiences with all the children once they are back at school, and with new pupils for years to come.

For the mural Matt Abbott's poem cleverly focuses on a moment in time for the school and its community to look back on together.

Craig Nicholson, Principal at North Ormesby Primary Academy, part of the Academies Enterprise Trust, said: “Our children and staff have truly shown how remarkable they are during these unprecedented times. This wonderful mural will act as a lasting legacy of how our whole school community has come together through adversity. Matt has captured the essence of our journey perfectly, and we hope that for years to come our children, staff and parents will look back on this time with some fond memories.”

Matt Abbott, poet, educator, and activist from Wakefield, said: “I don’t think there’s a community in the world, or the UK, that hasn’t been affected by Covid-19 in some way. But if there’s one thing that communities in the north of England are good at, it’s pulling together and helping each other through. It’s wonderful to see that NOPA has been such a pillar for its local community.

“I visited NOPA to deliver a poetry session at the end of February, less than a month before the UK went into lockdown. Even at that point, it was utterly unimaginable. So, when they commissioned me to write a poem for their Covid-19 mural, I was over the moon.”