Central St Martin's

Calum outside Central St Martin's

Student artwork at St Martin's

More student artwork - I think the message is loud and clear!

An Open Day
Calum and I recently went to an Open Day at Central St Martin's School of Art. It was for the Graphic Design undergraduate course

Calum is mad about art and wants to become a Graphic Designer and work in advertising. He'll be following in his Dad's footsteps as Joe spent 20 years in advertising working as a Commercial Artist.

Going round St Martin's was an amazing experience. It felt like a privilege to get a glimpse 'behind the scenes' of this world famous institution.

There was a real buzz and energy about the place - you could really feel the creativity.

We were taken round St Martin's by the quietly spoken but very knowledgeable Head of Graphic Design, Alan Baines. He gave us an in-depth insight into what life there is like, what they're looking for in their students and what's expected of them.

Fierce Competition
Needless to say, standards are high and competition is fierce (800 applicants for 180 places!).

But someone has to get those places and Calum has as good a chance as anyone else.

He can certainly see himself studying there and so can I so that's what he's aiming for. He came away more enthused than ever and that's a good sign.

If you want really want something, you'll go all out to achieve it. I'm glad Calum is aiming high.

The tour took over two hours but we both enjoyed every minute. Afterwards we visited an exhibition of some of the students' work.

The artwork speaks for itself - it shows talent, originality and creativity.

I believe Calum has all of those qualities. Now he needs to demonstrate them in his portfolio.

He'll certainly give it everything he's got.

And we'll be behind him all the way.