With the help of Bishop Wordsworth’s students, Pepys Walk in the Old George Mall has a new look.

Art teacher Samantha Redmill brought several of her Year 10 students to the walk on Tuesday, November 21 to help with a series of murals along the walkway.

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The project was the first time Samantha has had her students help with a permanent mural, though a previous project created the mural which adorned the front of the former Debenham’s during the years before Bradbeers moved into the building.

Samantha and nine of her students showed up at Pepys Walk on Tuesday, November 21 after weeks of planning to organise around the pupils’ other classes to allow for the day out.

Samantha approached executives of the Old George Mall, originally considering a mural on the siding cordoning Deichmann’s building during construction, but the caretakers of the mall suggested something more permanent in the nearby walkway instead.

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Samantha said: “This is such a dingy walkway. No one really wants to walk through here but we’re trying to make it as lovely as possible.”

Jasper Hill, 15, said he has become familiar with Pepys Walk in the four years he has lived in Salisbury.

He said: “It was a bit dirty, to be honest, but now that this is going to be here I think it is going to be a lot nicer.”

William Edwards, 15, said he has a mural he painted in his room but the Pepys Walk project was the first time he had ever created one outside or with a group.

William said: “It’s colder. It’s on a larger scale, because there’s a series of them. It’s more efficient as well because there’s lots of different people to do it and it’s more sociable, as well.”

Stuart Smallwood, headmaster at Bishop Wordsworth’s, said the artwork, with its spring theme, seems to symbolise a rebirth of Salisbury after its many hardships in recent years.

Stuart said: “It feels like Salisbury’s been through a really, really tough time with covid and Novichok twice and all that stupid stuff, but now it feels as if Salisbury is starting like a butterfly to spread its wings a bit. This is a symbol of that, Bradbeers is a symbol of that, the Everyman is a symbol of that happening. So it just feels as if this is maybe a sign of hope for things to come, I think. That’s the way it feels.”

Ellie Burke, Marketing and Communications Manager at Salisbury BID said "We are delighted to be supporting Samantha in this joyful and colourful mural project. Here at the BID, we are always striving to create a thriving and vibrant Salisbury for our businesses, and it is a privilege to be able to create platforms for local artists to shine. We can't wait to see the finished product!"