• last year
Children from Fulwell Junior School celebrate the unveiling of their award winning Coronation bench at the City Hall.
Transcript
00:00 Okay, then Ella, what does it feel like to see the bench unveiled here today?
00:14 It feels really good because we get to see what we designed really close to us.
00:19 And which part of the bench did you do?
00:20 The lighthouse.
00:21 Okay, and Lizzie, which part of the bench did you design?
00:22 I designed the danger looking off.
00:23 Okay, and did you go down to London to see it as well?
00:24 Yeah.
00:25 How does it feel to know so many people saw it down there?
00:32 It feels amazing because there might be some really important people who have seen it.
00:40 Okay, and Isaac, which part of the bench did you do?
00:42 I designed the steering wheel and the puffins.
00:45 Why did you pick those?
00:46 What do they represent?
00:47 The steering wheel means the four nations guiding the UK to safety and the puffins mean
00:53 the four nations being together.
00:55 Okay, and Seamus, how does it feel for you seeing this bench here today?
00:58 It feels exciting because at first I was just like, I can't believe I'm sketching them now
01:02 and it's actually becoming something real.
01:04 And obviously the bench is all about Sunderland.
01:06 How important do you think it is that it's actually being returned to Sunderland?
01:10 Very important.
01:12 And I understand eventually it's going to come back to your school, that'd be nice.
01:15 Yeah.
01:16 [Singing]
01:26 [Applause]
01:31 Okay, so how proud are you to be here today with the school for the unveiling of the Coronation Bench?
01:36 Absolutely incredibly proud.
01:38 I think we were proud when it went to have been announced as winners and proud when we were in London.
01:43 But to see it come to Sunderland, the children were so keen to have the bench reflect our city
01:48 and elements of our city and our values.
01:51 So to see it in the City Hall, I can't think of a better place for it to be shared with members of the public from Sunderland.
01:59 I understand eventually it's going to make its way back to the school at some point?
02:02 Eventually. We're hoping it'll do a bit of a royal tour first, maybe the Winter Gardens, somewhere else.
02:08 But we want as many people in Sunderland to see it, sit on it, because it is a bench and it can be sat on.
02:14 How does it feel to know that so many people in London have actually seen this bench, lots of tourists maybe sat on it?
02:20 How does that make you and the kids feel?
02:22 Proud and I think incredibly, I don't know, I think proud is the word, that we've had,
02:31 we've seen comments from tourists in London who have said, "Oh my gosh, I've been on the River Thames and seen this bench,
02:38 I didn't know Sunderland had a beach, I didn't know Sunderland was that lovely."
02:43 So I think we've really tried our hardest to reflect the best bits of Sunderland and share it with not just London but the world.
02:49 As over the summer we've had the coronation and tourists from all over the world sharing that little bit of Sunderland.
02:55 I understand the kids went to see it as well?
02:57 They did, their faces were a treat when they saw it as they approached the bench in the background with Tower Bridge,
03:05 on the left the Tower of London itself and I think they were just absolutely blown away.

Recommended