CHILDREN have been working with a ceramic artist for more than two years to produce artwork depicting the millennium.

Jenny Morten has been working with year seven, eight and nine pupils at Hurworth Comprehensive School for two years to make the ceramic tiled panel.

The work takes pride of place in a corridor at the school. The theme, millennium, is wide ranging, with pupils exploring cultural styles from prehistory to the present.

An Aboriginal style was chosen as a way of telling the story of what the millennium means, using handprints, dots and lines as a map pointing to significant items on the panel. These include the advances of communication, a history of transport, the Dome, firework and champagne celebrations, a millennium baby and the millennium Bug.

The panel will be officially opened this week by Paul Whitehouse, the retiring vice-chairman of governors at Hurworth.