National Portrait Gallery School Programme
Introduction to NPG Schools (onsite and Schools hub)
The National Portrait Gallery in London is home to the largest portrait collection in the world, telling stories of British history, culture and society from the 1500s to the present day.
The Gallery’s FREE Schools programme brings Art & Design and History learning to life for all key stages, through portraiture. Specially designed sessions and resources develop students’ enquiry, visual literacy and creative skills as they explore portraits past and present, uncovering the inspiring stories they reveal and making portraits of their own.
Provision for schools includes the Gallery’s award-winning online Schools hub featuring hundreds of resources, from simple how-to videos and tutorials with artists, to step-by-step portrait analysis guides, and interviews with leading experts.
The Law photography programme for schools, open to UK state-funded schools
Photography is a key strand of the National Portrait Gallery’s Schools offer. From exploring important contemporary themes such as Identity and The Self, to discovering new processes and techniques, the Gallery provides exciting opportunities for students to connect with practicing artists and be inspired by some of Britain’s most celebrated photographers.
The Legends display offers the Gallery’s schools photography programme a stimulating and powerful series of portraits to inspire students’ creative learning and photography practice. Legends has been incorporated into photography workshops for secondary schools and colleges, working with student classes in key stages 3, 4 and 5. Students explore Legends in the Studio Gallery and Spotlight Space, select the portraits that individually inspire them and visually analyse these. In the studio they create photographic portraits of their peers, focusing on the sitter’s identity. Working in partnership, with black-and-white photography, using considered lighting in a photographic studio. The workshops take place in the Law Photography Studio, a learning space which engages learners and develops their portrait photography skills.
Legends resource for schools
We are currently creating an in-Gallery resource for students to support their self-led visit to Legends. The students’ activity sheet encourages close observation of the portraits, to visually analyse Zoë Law’s photographic process and techniques.
Students are invited to identify portraits they connect with and record through note taking and sketching what inspires them, focusing on character expression and dynamic pose, composition and crop, lighting exposure, highlights and shadows.
The resource will encourage students to take ideas from Legends into their own photography and portraiture work.
Special events and workshops in the spring term 2025
We have programmed a special series of events for schools to connect students with unique creative opportunities around Legends during the display. The Masterclasses have fully booked within the first week of promotion, and the Meet the Artist event is filling up fast!
Meet the Artist: Zoë Law
Wednesday 12 February 2025 11.00-12.30
Inspire your students to develop their photography by hearing directly from portrait photographer Zoë Law about her photographic series Legends.
Your students will learn about Zoë Law’s career pathway in the creative industries through music and make-up into photography, and who has inspired her on her journey.
This in-conversation event will include a student Q&A and a visit to Zoë Law’s Legends display in the Gallery.
Masterclass: Photography and styling workshop
Friday 28 February 2024 10.00-14.30
Book your class for an exciting photography masterclass day inspired by Zoë Law’s Legends and The Face Magazine: Culture Shift.
Students will work with a professional photographer to analyse photographs in collaborative discussions and make their own portraits in response. Students will identify photographs that inspire them and create their own photographic portraits in the Law photography studio.
We are developing the Law Photography Programme for Schools to include outreach workshops in London secondary schools during spring term 2025 and further creative photography opportunities for students and teachers in the future.
The Law Photography Programme for Schools is programmed for state funded schools.
Photography: Marysa Dowling
