Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwynderw

This new school is located on an ancient drovers’ road, which ran from Gower down to the beach, across Swansea Bay to Margam Abbey on the eastern shore of the bay. The design is intended to illustrate the history and geography of the site, and its proximity to the sea.

At the bottom of the design are footprints of drovers, animals and dogs in the shingle. The blue swathes in the middle represent the sea and the sky. Images of the parcels of oystercatchers that congregate in large numbers on the beach can be seen at the top of the window. The school’s Welsh name, ‘Llwynderw’, can be translated into English as ‘Oak Grove’, and the silhouette of an oak tree is sandblasted into the design

As the available budget was insufficient to treat the entirety of the window, it was necessary to limit the number of units in the window to be decorated, and reduce the number of colours used.

One aspect of the commission included a week of glass tile-making workshops with the school, from Reception to Year Six, who were housed in temporary accommodation in Singleton Park, adjacent to Bishop Gore School.

This simple, but effective, workshop (which is suitable for adults and children) commenced with a walk around Singleton Park to find objects to imprint into clay, which would produce patterns. The children then mixed a solution of Plaster of Paris, and carefully poured it into the patterns in the clay. When the plaster had set, they carefully removed the clay to reveal the plaster mould. These moulds take a few weeks to dry completely. To make the glass tile, a square of float glass was placed on top of the plaster mould, placed in a kiln, and heated up to 8000C. The glass melted over the plaster into the pattern beneath. When cool, the resulting glass tiles were fixed onto the glass balustrade on the stairways.

Commissioner: Education Department, City & County of Swansea

Art Consultants: Public Art Wales, Cardiff

Address: West Cross Lane, Swansea

Architects: Stride Treglown Davies, Cardiff