Gargoyles in time for Halloween

21 Oct 2022

College is perfectly safe, thanks to the Year 10 French cultural studies class which has been exercising its creative side in making gargoyles.

In order to prepare, the class undertook a “field trip” to take a closer look at the gargoyles on the Hare Memorial Building.

“How lucky we are to have our own examples of medieval architecture in our own backyard,” said HoD Modern Languages Susan Harding.

These carved, or free form grotesques, often seen in Gothic architecture, typically scare away evil spirits.

“It was a fun thing for the boys to do and part of our work on studying the great cathedrals of France, including Notre Dame de Paris.”

The class made its gargoyles, which usually have a spout designed to convey water from a roof, from modelling clay.

It took them just under an hour to make their fantastic examples of some of France’s most well-known architectural features with a personal spin on the design. After deciding on a design, they then had to mould the material into shape, and let it dry before painting.

“It was very satisfying and creative for these boys and gave them a real sense of history.”