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As part of Westminster City School’s ongoing enrichment programme, Years 10 and Year 11 Art students had the opportunity to take part in a hands-on creative workshop at St Paul’s Cathedral on Tuesday 15 September.

During the visit, students worked alongside skilled stonemasons from PAYE Stonework & Restoration Ltd, a prestigious specialist contractor currently involved in restoration work at both St Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London.

Students were introduced to traditional stonemasonry techniques and had the opportunity to carve stone using specialist hand tools. They also learned more about the skills, training and apprenticeship routes involved in becoming a stonemason, providing them with unique details into a highly skilled heritage craft and potential career pathway.

The day also included a workshop with practising artist and architect Peter Ayres, who guided students through the process of creating small 3D typographic models, allowing them to explore the relationship between art, architecture and design.

Year 11 student Jevaughn said:

“My experience at St Paul’s Cathedral was fantastic and insightful. Learning stone carving has given me a new range of skills that I can use in my Art GCSE and helped me develop my precision and patience. It was quite obvious how passionate the stonemasons were about their work.”

The visit provided students with an opportunity to develop practical artistic skills while learning directly from professionals working within the creative and heritage industries.

Westminster City School would like to thank the stonemasons at PAYE and the Urban Learners community for making the workshop possible and providing students with such an interesting and valuable experience.