A new sculpture based on designs made by pupils has been unveiled at a north Essex school.

The brightly-coloured concrete installation was created by artist Nicola Burrell over the course of the past year.

Based on designs created by children at Mersea Island School using cardboard, with each year group using different techniques, the sculpture has taken several months to come together.

The theme for the artwork is the island itself, with elements of fishing, boats and anchors all featuring.

Miss Burrell said: “It was really refreshing to work with children, they were just brilliant.

“It is very inspiring, the way they go about using the materials and see different shapes. They are not as inhibited as adults and go about things in a much more free way.

“The finished sculpture is quite abstract and is open to interpretation, but you can see all of the elements.”

Headteacher Nicky Sirett added: “It was really exciting to work with a real artist and some of the children went to her workshop to see how their ideas were being turned into this project.

“It is also really good to work in three dimensions, and to create something lasting and permanent.

“Nicola was great because she worked with the whole age range and every child made a structure.”