Broughton St Mary's has been no place for slackers these last two days as 22 young people have raced to complete murals on the building's south-western stairs.
The mostly 3rd and 4th-year pupils – 17 from Drummond CHS, 5 from Leith Academy – are taking part in the Prince's Award, and after a year's involvement with 90 per cent or better levels of attendance – must now work even harder to finish their culminating 24-hour challenge.
'The theme for the murals is loosely based on Edinburgh,' says organiser Hannah Smith from SkillForce. 'Louise McGillivray has designed a Greyfriars Bobby, Mark Stewart is working on a tribute to the trams, and Catherine Dempsey is responsible for the wonderful decorative lettering taking shape.'
On the stair between first and second floors, a Pentland scene is unfolding with an array of local wildlife including deer, foxes, badgers and an owl.
Smith has worked on similar arts-based projects in 5–6 schools across Edinburgh and Midlothian for the last four years, and is a sculpture graduate of Robert Gordon University.
Maybe it's just the result of working flat out from 8.30am–7.00pm, but she looks momentarily tired as she describes the next stage in the project: decorating one of the walls in the style of Jackson Pollock.
We'll bring you more photos next month, once the dust has settled and the paint dried. Preferably in different places.
