“Welcoming and Bright”: How a School Project Transforms a Hospice

Not all legacies are brick and mortar. At Willow Burn Hospice, one of the most uplifting projects linked to the Sir Tom Cowie Centre is also one of the most creative, and it comes from the minds of schoolchildren.

A few years ago, Lady Cowie and David Gray visited the hospice when they noticed that some of the corridors inside the Sir Tom Cowie Centre felt bare. These were the same corridors used by patients attending day services and by families visiting for bereavement support, so they wanted to make the space feel warmer. That’s when the idea of the artwork project was born.

Working with St Bede’s School in Lanchester, the hospice invited art students from Years 10 and 12 to create original work that could brighten the space. The school ran it as a competition and every student who submitted a piece had their work displayed inside the hospice.

Rachel Quince, Head of Fundraising and Marketing at the hospice, says the results were immediate. She said: “Everyone comments on how much warmer and brighter the rooms feel. It’s much more uplifting now when you go into that part of the centre.”

The project has been running for two years now and themes have ranged from flowers and landscapes to animals and abstract designs. Some students painted, some used watercolour, others worked in pencil or mixed media; the artwork is as varied as the artists behind it.

Although winners are chosen by Lady Cowie and David Gray, all entries are included in the display. It’s not just about competition, it’s about contribution.

From Rachel’s point of view, the impact on the space is clear.

She said: “It really made a difference to Willow Burn. It brightens up the environment considerably in the Sir Tom Cowie Centre; it just makes it more welcoming and bright”.

Hospices are often misunderstood. While they support people at the end of life, they also help people live well with illness. Art, in this context, becomes more than decoration, it becomes part of the atmosphere of care, it helps lift the mood, create comfort, and make the space feel human.

This project might be small in scale, but it reflects something big. It’s the idea that beauty, hope, and creativity still matter, even in the hardest moments. That, too, is a legacy worth celebrating.