Henry Hill schoolkids love their wall of sports heroes

Aroha Te Are, left, Rhykin Stok, Ngatokoono Apai-Ah Kuoi, Jason King, Te Raukura Harris, and Molly James of Henry Hill School Napier with mural artist Brandon Blair. Photo / Paul Taylor

For the youngsters at Henry Hill School in Napier the latest great mural to appear across two classroom walls is easy to describe.

"Awesome", is the widespread summation, principal Jason Williams said as acclaimed local artist Brandon Blair of Crimson Art put the finishing touches to it this week.

It is the latest colourful and eye-catching artwork Blair has created for the school — as he has with several other schools across the region since kicking off his mural career six years ago having been a signwriter up until then.

It was back in March while he was wrapping up his startling previous work illustrating Māori Gods that Williams made the decision.

"I thought right, let's start planning the next one."

Blair had also created four stunning murals for the interior walls of the school hall.

"We wanted a sports mural," Williams said, adding that the youngsters were all encouraged to learn about the country's leading sports stars, and equally encouraged to be active.

The siting of the mural, which features six of the land's leading lights from the landscape of sports, is perfect as it faces the school's basketball and netball courts.

So the fundraising began and was boosted through the school's KidsCan Fun Run Challenge, and the community and pupils were asked to nominate who they would like to see on the mural.

The votes were eventually cast and it came down to Steven Adams, Valerie Adams, Jonah Lomu, Irene Van Dyke, Richie McCaw and Stacy Jones getting the final nod.

Blair set to work at the start of the term and while the school had posted updates of his other murals on their website they kept this one quiet, as it was "so special" and they wanted to create a surprise wow factor for people when they see it.

They have certainly achieved that.

"It's great to see and hear the reactions of the kids," Blair said.

"There could be a couple of little artists out there."

He has spent about 60 hours on the mural, using a projector to enlarge the images used which he marked up and then began to paint in.

"It was a challenge because I had to get the faces right but this has been a real fun one to do."

The new mural is the latest ingredient of the school's strong vision to motivate and inspire its pupils, and Williams said while it is listed as a decile 1 school its youngsters had clearly become over-achievers and were flourishing.

"It's about providing motivation and always looking for something different," he said.

That included starting the day off with yoga exercises — a calm start to the day which saw everyone start on an equal footing.

It all came down to creating good mindsets and a willingness to learn and take part in activities — which is what has been happening, he said.

"It's about thinking outside the box."

And sport has always been important, and now the youngsters can see some of their heroes every day.

So who do they find most awesome?

"Oh Steven Adams — he's just coming right out at you — it's remarkable."