SCHOOL children created a patchwork quilt to cover a bridge while it is being rebuilt.

Pupils at South Harringay Junior School, on Mattison Road, have spent the past month painting more than 20 boards representing their cultural heritage to hide reconstruction work on the bridge in Wightman Road, in Harringay.

Transport For London is taking down the bridge to replace it with a new one and asked the school to design boards so the area didn’t look like a “mess”.

The artwork, which is named The Fabric of Haringey, is made up of designs taken from fabric samples of different countries including Turkey and Greece, which have been brought together like a patchwork quilt.

Amy Screen, a Year 5 pupil, said: “I liked how we could do paintings from around the world and I think it is good they're going on the bridge so when people walk past they won't be bored.”

Ellen Kenyon Peers, a teaching assistant who was in charge of the project, said the children “really engaged” with the piece,

She said: “It has been absolutely fantastic being involved in this project.

“I run the art club at the school and had the idea to use the children’s different backgrounds as a lot of them are Greek and Turkish.

“The designs are taken from traditional fabric samples of the selected countries and brings them together to look like a patchwork quilt, which I think is a perfect metaphor for the population of this very multicultural borough.”

Ms Peers believes the quilt helped the children learn more about their fellow classmate’s heritage.

She said: “They have worked very hard on it, as they all contributed in their own way and have really engaged with the project.

“It has given them the opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures, such as food and festivals and being able to engage in a creative way with each other.

“I believe it is really important for them to think about multiculturalism in a positive way and their work will show the area in a good light.

“It has given the children a voice in the community and a chance to say this is how we see our borough.”

The boards are now on display over the bridge.