Pupils sculpt their willowy winner

Children in years three to six at Old Bank School in Mirfield helped artist Carole Beavis create a willow cyclist sculpture over two days.

Schools throughout Kirkees have been working on a series of sculptures, which will be on display at this weekend’s Spirit and at the Hypervelocity in Huddersfield in July.

Each school will get their sculpture back once the Grand Depart has finished.

Art teacher Judy Ali, who oversees art at the school in Taylor Hall Lane, said: “The children really enjoyed working with Carole. They had an absolutely wonderful time.

“It’s quite hard work but they did amazingly.

“Carole also showed them pictures of her work and explained what it was like to be an artist.”

Ben Carpenter, Husnain Abdal and Anazstazia Kanya and Carole Beavis are pictured with the sculpture.

Dewsbury’s seventh annual Spirit extravaganza has been chosen as one of the flagship events of the Yorkshire Festival.

Spirit will see Belgium’s Luce Theater Tol descend on Dewsbury town centre tomorrow. The show will tell the story of the rivalry between two of Italy’s greatest cyclists, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi, who raced against each other in the 1940s and 1950s.

Meanwhile, Kirklees Libraries are making sure that favourite storybook characters are ready for the Tour de France with a competition for young readers.

Children aged up to 12 are invited to design a cycling helmet for their favourite storybook or fairytale character in a competition running in all Kirklees libraries during Easter.

Visit your local library for more details. The closing date for entries is Saturday April 26.