Call for schools to go wild and design their own Pride of Gloucestershire Trail lion

Date published: 10 July 2024

Call for schools to go wild and design their own Pride of Gloucestershire Trail lion

Pupils across the county can get their paws on their very own beautiful cub to decorate for the Lions at Large sculpture trail.

Schools will have their own little lion featured on the Pride of Gloucestershire Trail that will attract thousands of visitors to Cheltenham and Gloucester in 2025. All the mini sculptures will join dozens of larger lions decorated by artists that will take pride of place throughout both locations next summer.

Schools are being asked to join the Cub Club and pledge to raise a minimum of £750 and in return they will receive a sculpture to decorate and be displayed on the trail.

There are only 100 little lions up for grabs and a number of schools have already signed up and so anyone interested is encouraged to sign up as soon as possible on the charity’s website. The Cub Club is also open to local community groups.

Holy Apostles’ C of E Primary School in Cheltenham has already signed up. Its Headteacher Dan Smith said: “Taking part in this amazing trail offers so many opportunities to inspire our pupils and also educate them about this worthwhile cause in our community.We are really looking forward to receiving our little lion and getting started on our fundraising and design ideas.”

Pupil Sophie Massey, nine, said she was really pleased the school was going to have a lion on the trail. “I’m really excited to see the lion at school and to get involved with painting it too. It makes a change from painting on paper. I can’t wait to see our school’s design out in the wild on the sculpture trail,” she said.

Cheltenham and Gloucester Hospitals Charity has partnered with Wild in Art to put on the Lions at Large Pride of Gloucestershire Trail and Gloucester BID and Cheltenham BID have signed up as the two presenting partners in their respective locations. A number of businesses have also come forward to sponsor a large lion sculpture.

Senior Fundraiser Karen Organ said: “It is really important for us to be able to work with schools in the community to not only help provide amazing learning opportunities for so many young people but also to encourage them to get out and about on the trail discovering the lions which is an amazing healthy activity that is free for all the family.

“There are still large and small sculptures available and the more schools and businesses who come on board to raise money or sponsor a lion, the more open spaces in Cheltenham and Gloucester will be transformed with beautiful free artwork for all to enjoy next summer.”

Leon the Lion kindly decorated by PJ Crook at pjcrook.com.

Photography kindly taken by David Jenkins at davidjenkinsphotography.com.