STUDENTS are running a pop up art school inside the busy Pride Hill shopping centre in Shrewsbury to help them display their talents to a wider audience.

For the second year running students from the Art School, and Performing Arts at Shrewsbury College of Arts & Technology have taken over a unit at the Pride Hill Shopping Centre and transformed it into a vibrant gallery where they can display and sell their work.

They will also be using the shop to gain valuable feedback from members of the public for their Art & Design qualifications.

Local professionals are also being invited to come and talk to the students about their work and give advice on how to succeed in creative occupations, from architecture to photography.

This year’s pop up art school at Pride Hill, which is now in session, follows on from the success of one opened for three weeks last January in the nearby Darwin Centre.

Organiser Jill Impey, course leader for the UAL (University of the Arts London Awarding Body) Extended Diploma in Art & Design at Shrewsbury College of Arts & Technology, said that despite the arctic weather of early 2013, the Darwin Centre initiative brought lots of positive feedback.

She explained: “We not only got an awful lot of really good reaction from members of the public who saw it but also from the external examiners who said they could see what an impact being involved in the shop had on the students’ development.

“Last year, we only had a group of about 20 students involved and they had exhibits such as architectural models and pieces such as lighting which had been created from reclaimed objects.

“This year we are being a lot more ambitious and have a total of between 120 and 140 students, aged from 16 to their early twenties, involved in the art school over the course of the 10 days.

“The shop we are using is between HMV and Next in the Pride Hill centre and the art school will be open to the public from 9.30am-3.30pm when the BTEC Fashion and Textile students will be showing a range of one-off bags and researching marketing opportunities, as well as taking part in studio photography.

“Year two UAL Art & Design students will also be in the shop doing photographic and drawn portraits of members of the public.”

Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “We’re happy to support local art and artists and that especially includes young people and as well as exposure to the public for their work this also gives them an insight into retail.

“Art isn’t just something that is for looking at, it’s for sale too and if they’re to make their careers in the creative world then they need that experience as well.

“On February 1 we will also be staging the Shropshire Young Enterprise event which will see businesses set up in schools across the county displaying and selling their products here and that’s another way in which we are supporting the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”

Jill added: “If you’ve ever wondered what you would look like as an animal then student Molly Archer will `imagineer’ your transformation through the power of hand-drawn illustration.

“Students from the UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design will also be engaging with the public in the Pride Hill Centre next week and Performing Arts students will be around during the week doing some choral singing.

“All the art and design work will remain be on exhibition until January 31, so people will have plenty of time to come and enjoy it.

“The students will be testing out work for exhibition as well as their portfolios for interior design, photography, fine art, fashion, illustration, visual communication and graphic design and they welcome public involvement in a range of interactions, workshops and discussion about their work.

“Like last year, the shop will be visited by a range of creative professionals, such as photographers and architects, who will give the students reactions to their work and also pass on tips on how to get a start in the various industries.

“This promises to be an exciting and enriching experience for the students, representing the college as well as themselves to the public, other students and local creative industry professionals.

“Many thanks to the Shrewsbury Shopping management who have been extremely supportive in providing us with a unit once again for our pop up art school.”

A HIGH-FLYING spectacle maker at a Birkenhead opticians has a golden career in sight after becoming one of the youngest lab managers in the UK and gaining his industry’s highest qualification.

Phil McEvoy, who works at Specsavers in Pyramids Shopping Centre, said he wasn’t put off by some short-sighted people who believed his career horizons were limited by not going on to university when he left school.

He believes his latest achievements have put a whole new perspective on things after he landed his top possible qualification and was promoted to run his own department – all at the tender age of 23.

Phil is celebrating becoming one of a select band from across the UK to obtain the Level 4 Diploma for Optical Technicians, which is widely recognised as the gold standard for the industry.

Administered by the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers (WCSM) the qualification is tailored to the needs of those who aspire to become senior technicians and supervisors and, on average, only 40 of the coveted diplomas are presented each year.

Phil, who lives in Wallasey and has worked at Specsavers since 2010, explained that gaining the accolade meant two years of hard study, much of which had to be done at home after working a full day in the lab.

He said: “It was pretty hard going but well worth doing because there aren’t many people who manage to gain the diploma.

“Although I did do some block release, most of the study had to be done after work. There were all sorts of aspects to it, much of it based on mathematical calculations.

“At the end of the first year of the course there were three exams to do for which I had to travel down to London and the second year finished with more exams in Cardiff, actually six of them in just one day.

“I’m glad to say I passed them all with flying colours and now I’m one of the few people in my industry to hold the diploma.

“There were 20 people on my particular course and only about half of them managed to pass, which makes me feel very proud.

“I went down to the WCSM’s headquarters near Tower Bridge in London to be presented with the diploma which was a very special moment for me.”

Gaining the diploma has further enhanced Phil’s reputation at Specsavers where his ability has seen him rise from trainee technician to manager of a four-strong lab department in just three years.

But he is also proud to have proved his doubters wrong by excelling in his career, despite choosing not to go to university.

“Some people suggested to me when I was in sixth form that if I didn’t go to university, then I wasn’t going to amount to anything,” he said.

“I spent a couple of years working in a local solicitors’ office and then when I was looking for a fresh challenge I was lucky enough to get the job at Specsavers.

“I like to think that the progress I have managed to make with the company in just three years and now obtaining the Level 4 Diploma has helped me to prove the doubters wrong and to make my own mark.

“I’ve always had great support from my family and friends and everyone is made up for me about the qualification.”

Phil, who spends what little spare time he has playing five-a-side football with his friends at the Soccer Dome on the Wirral, is in charge of three other lab technicians who produce spectacles for Specsavers’ branches at Pyramids Shopping Centre and Wallasey.

Both are run by director Ken Roberts, who said of Phil: “The qualification he’s job obtained is the highest you can get in the industry and we’re all very proud of him.

“He’s worked very hard and we’ve supported him all the way. He’s a very bright lad and one of the best lab technicians we’ve ever had.

“From his first day on the job I recognised that he wasn’t just trying to learn the technical side of it but also had an eye on running the department.”

Ken explained that one of Phil’s key responsibilities is overseeing the smooth operation of the branch’s state-of-the-art robotic lens edger, which Specsavers became only the second opticians in the country to acquire when it took delivery 18 months ago.

He said: “The machine is not only remarkably accurate – producing lenses to a tolerance of less than half of one millimetre – but also super-efficient.

“When we installed this piece of equipment it replaced four other machines and is capable of doing all the work they did along with much more.

“Apart from all his other duties, Phil is also responsible for making sure the edger is being used properly and he does it remarkably well.”

Chris Maughan, examinations administrator for the Worshipful Company of Optical Technicians, based at Apothecaries Hall in London, said: “We’d like to congratulate Phil McEvoy on obtaining the Level 4 Diploma, which is the main qualification we offer.

“It’s a very tough academic course and, on average, only about 40 people a year manage to achieve it.”