College runs ‘Paint Along’ to help students de-stress

NPTC Group of Colleges (@NPTCGroup) recently hosted Claire Timbrell aka ‘The Paint Along Lady’ (@paintalonglady) to help de-stress students.

Claire travels across South Wales presenting paint-along sessions where everyone leaves with a finished painting, her events can range from 30 to 400 people at a time, and this was the perfect activity for students to relax before their upcoming GCSE or Level 3 exams.

Entering the studio, students were greeted with fun music and warm smiles from Claire and her team. Soon enough, swirls of colour covered their canvases as their creativity started to flow.

Following Claire’s expert advice, students from across the College focussed entirely on fun art, not fine art. No painting experience was required, and students used only five colours and three brushes to create fantastic individual masterpieces of love birds on a colour-burst background.

Petra Williams, the College’s Senior Officer: Higher Education Student Experience was delighted to be able to deliver this activity through Reaching Wider Funding, said:

“It was really just an opportunity for students to have fun and unwind a little bit before they go into exam season.  The health and well-being of students is at the heart of the College, and we know, relaxing your mind before an exam or revision session will help you plan your study schedule, remember your notes, and generally feel better about everything.”

The South West Wales Reaching Wider Partnership aims to increase participation in higher education by people from underrepresented groups and communities in South West Wales. Through collaborations with Reaching Wider the College can offer a range of inspiring activities for targeted young people, creating those pathways to higher education.

Students from the College’s Sixth Form Academy had a great time added:

‘’None of us can believe how good all of our paintings are! It was really fun and a needed break from College work, it’s given us time to recharge before going back to work!’’

Claire says: ‘’I truly believe the process of creating a painting is one of the most relaxing and rewarding past times and I think it should be accessible to everyone, all ages and abilities.’’

This was just one activity in a full programme of sessions designed by the College to help students combat stress, revise, and prepare for exams.