College News

Middleton Fund Prize

Oliver Lakey, a student on the BTEC Diploma in Foundation Studies in Art & Design at Darlington’s Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, has been awarded the Middleton Fund Prize. The prize is awarded by the College to a student who has made excellent progress in the Arts, and it has a long and proud history.

In 1899, the Middleton Greathead Printers’ Scholarship was left in the will of Middleton Greathead and it is now administered by Darlington Borough Council.

Oliver is a very worthy recipient. Last year, he was a Fine Art and Graphics A Level student and he made exceptional progress. In Fine Art he produced some very inventive works – a machine that made sand drawings; a bubble machine with dyes that made automatic marks as it cascaded down lengths of paper; sculptures which were extrusions of plaster and a shelf piece which contained and cascaded wax and plaster. His Graphics work was professional and displayed excellent use of photography and manipulated images using Photoshop, as well as sensitive drawing skills.

Rita Smith, Director of the Arts at QE, comments:

“Oliver is an extremely deserving student. He is very risk-taking and experimental in his approach to his work, always keen to try working in new ways and with a wide range of materials and approaches. Oliver gets on well with everyone and is always friendly, polite and helpful. Now studying on the Art Foundation course, Oliver is totally throwing himself into every project and opportunity with energetic and infectious enthusiasm. ‘’