On Tuesday 16th July 2002 in front of a small gathering of School Governors, Staff, members of the PTA & LGVA, and following a short address by Barbara Chapman, Chairman of Leverstock Green Village Association, Mrs. Madge Cheesbrough, executrix of the late Fred Buglass, unveiled a plaque at Leverstock Green JMI School commemorating the funding of an exciting and unusual project at the school.
"Our Village" is a student centred interpretation of the local environment and consists of individual ceramic tiles made by the children from years 4 and 5, and mounted in a specially designed set of three decorative panels, which now hangs in the school hall. Three groups of 15 students worked with the artist Paul Rowbottom over two days during Artweek 2001, assisted by Beatrice Simpson, the schools' Art co-ordinator, year 4 & 5 class teachers and learning assistants. At the invitation of Headteacher Alan Phair, the artist designed the panels with an eye-catching decorative tile border. The project was made possible by generous funding from Leverstock Green Village Association and the school's Parent & Teacher Association.
This was the first project to receive funding from the newly established "Fred Buglass Legacy" scheme, set up by Leverstock Green Village Association using the money left to the Association by its late President Fred Buglass. The Association's Chairman, Barbara Chapman, said, "Leverstock Green Village Association's Trustees all agreed that this project would help develop a sense of community. We believe that this is the type of project Fred wanted to encourage and we feel he would be proud of the work the children have produced"
Any projects funded by the scheme have to meet certain criteria laid down by the Trustees and have to be used to benefit groups of inhabitants of Leverstock Green rather than individuals, and are generally to be used "in the pursuit of education, social welfare, recreation and leisure time activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the inhabitants of Leverstock Green."
