Parents and friends admired artistic children’s work at Horrabridge Primary School’s first-ever art exhibition.

The pupils studied a range of subjects and then interpreted it creatively. The works of art included masked-helmets inspired by the Sutton Hoo excavations, self-portraits made with natural materials, mini-sculptures copied from Henry Moore’s style, Indian elephants, very old cave paintings, leaf prints, ancient Greek pottery and astronomy.

Sarah Pascal, teacher, said: “Our children have produced exceptional work, using knowledge from what they have studied in history and other classwork. The artwork has stimulated their learning and helped them understand more in depth and explore more about the subjects. Some have discovered new skills and a love of things like pottery, so they gain such a lot.

“We’ve opened it up to parents and families to see what they have done collectively, so everyone has a wider chance to see the children’s work across the whole school, which would not normally happen. It also gives the children a boost and sense of pride to see their work being appreciated.”

Ailla and Amelie, both 11, interpreted sculptor Henry Moore’s charcoal planning drawings for his famous works.

Ailla said: “We made clay models inspired by Henry Moore in wartime. They are from his drawings of people in air raid shelters in the war. We chose different positions from the pictures for our models. We studied the war in class.”

Scarlett and Astrid, both eight, made masks in the stye of the finds from the world famous Anglo Saxon royal tomb in Suffolk. Astrid said: “A long time ago they buried their royal family in the ground and they found these helmets. We copied different masks for our art.”

April, nine, Monty, nine, and Lilah-Mae, ten, were on the pottery team who made ancient Greece bright orange-glazed pots with black illustrations. April said: “I really like pottery. My decorations are for a New Year’s Eve party.”