Picture Gallery: Wigan schoolchildren's poetry is premiered at their local library

Year 6 pupils from St Thomas's CE primary school, in Ashton launched their poetry and art project at the town’s library, which they worked on with wordsmith Ray Douglas with funding provided from Ashton Circle Charity Project. In summer the work will be in display at Ashton’s Jubilee Park.

Ashton Circle is a charity that creates the opportunity for members of the community to come together and have better and more connected lives. The funding, given by the RSA was for smalls sparks ideas to use an idea to bring people together.

Ray said: “Local charity, Ashton Circle, were looking for creative ideas aimed at promoting a sense of community. So, I put my thinking cap on and dreamed up going into a local school to work with children to create signposts for public places using their poems and pictures.

“Thanks to the wonderfully supportive St Thomas's Primary School and especially Mrs Jones, the headteacher and Mrs Fairclough, the Year 6 teacher, I got the opportunity to work with some amazing children. The children came up with some marvellous ideas, wrote funny, thoughtful and inspired poems then added illustrations

“Despite the initial plan of putting the signposts in Jubilee Park it was decided that Ashton Library would be better home, for the winter months at least! Ashton Library, like all of Wigan Libraries, is a great place at the heart of the community making it more than fitting that this community driven protect be there.”