At the end of last year, and as part of its commitment to working closely with the local community, Taylor Wimpey East Scotland invited S3 art students at Inverkeithing High School to create designs that would inspire the design of feature panels for the railings.

Working with its Artist Blacksmiths at Ratho Byres Forge and one of the art teachers at Inverkeithing High School, Taylor Wimpey East Scotland set the students a brief that formed part of their design studies for their last term of 2023. They were given the theme ‘Inverkeithing’ and they were challenged to be inspired by its location, its wildlife and nature, its people, its history, local heritage and Spencerfield House.

The students responded with great enthusiasm, and over 100 entries were shortlisted for a judging panel consisting of three local councillors, a representative from the Community Council as well as a class teacher from Inverkeithing High School, and Taylor Wimpey’s Artist Blacksmiths to review.

The judges have selected 10 designs which will now interpreted by the team at Ratho Byres Forge and forged in steel to be placed within the feature railings across the development.

Pauline Mills, technical director for Taylor Wimpey East Scotland, said: “These unique pieces of art reflect the student’s inspiration from their local area and showcase their brilliant talent for art.

“We are incredibly pleased with the quality of the designs the students have created for us, in fact, we originally set out to choose five winners, but the standard of entries was so high that our judging panel agreed that we had to recognise more designs.

“We are confident that the local homeowners living at Spencer Fields and indeed the wider local community will be very proud of the completed panels once they are installed at the development.

“We expect installation to be around autumn this year, and they will form an integral part of the development for hundreds of years to come. We are very proud of this project with Inverkeithing High School, and we understand the students enjoyed taking part in a live project, so we’re delighted to have been able to give them this opportunity.”

Lois Wiseman, art teacher at Inverkeithing High School, added: “This was an incredible opportunity for our students to get involved in, and we are very pleased with how they all responded to the brief from Taylor Wimpey East Scotland.

“The feature panels will be forged in steel and will provide a lasting legacy between our school and the new development at Spencer Fields for decades to come. The ten winners now have the opportunity to visit the forge in Ratho to see their designs come to life before they are invited along to the development to see the panels in situ. It’s a very exciting project to be involved in.”

Pete Hill, Artist Blacksmith at the Ratho Byres Forge, concluded: “This has been a great project to be part of and we’re looking forward to bringing the student’s designs to life over the next few months before installing them at the development later this year. The designs are rich in detail and combined they reflect the collective brief that we gave the students to capture the many aspects of local life in Inverkeithing.”

The winners are all studying S3 art, and they are Eilidh Brown, Sophia Scott, Jessica Baird, Paige Dunsmuir, Avril Smith, Sophie Hislop, Destiny Chikomba, Zainab Jaffery, Isla Young, and Fearne Riach.