IF you go down to the woods today . . . you'll gather enough material to make your own sculptures!

For youngsters at St John's C of E Primary School in Bury were in a class of their own when it came to making and displaying an assortment of wood-related displays.

Their talents were brought to the fore by Vicki Bailey, who is a community artist with the Bury Countryside Service.

And she is pictured with some of the children who proudly display their special creations.

Vicki helped the 28 Year 3 and 4 children at the school in Athlone Avenue create a number of imaginative and eye-catching wood sculptures. Each used some of the material which had earlier been gathered from the countryside by the pupils themselves.

By utilising a mixture of feathers, hay, logs, twigs, branches and other material, the children put together various displays with a distinct rural feel.

All the sculptures were based on the material collected, with pupils making and decorating straw crosses, bird perches, various hanging mobiles and even straw hats.

Vicki's visit took place under the "artist in residence" scheme which is a popular educational feature within many Bury schools.

She passed on her expertise, experience and knowledge to show the children the numerous uses countryside material can be put to in a strict artistic context.

And good news for the pupils is that many of their wood sculptures will go on show later at an event to mark Bury Council's Outwood-based Millennium Wood project.