FELIXSTOWE is filled with hundreds of places for artists to be inspired by.

The Landguard peninsula, the beaches, the port and the ships all offer a variety of possibilities when a painter or photographer arrives at a scene with a blank canvas.

The resort has a wealth of areas for people to admire, and students at Felixstowe Academy have been encouraged to get out into their community and be creative with what they see around them.

Art and Photography students at the academy, who have been studying for their GCSEs, BTECs and A-levels have, for the last few months, been creating art for their exams.

Some have created pieces based on scenes from around the world while some have been inspired by scenes closer to home.

And after hours of waiting for the perfect shot, and finally perfecting their paintings, the students have now had the opportunity to show off their works of art to the community.

The academy’s GCSE and BTEC students were the first to showcase their pieces with an exhibition at the Maidstone campus.

Claire Allsop, a teacher of art and photography, has been teaching the students for the last two years.

She said: “They have all worked really hard and there are some very creative students and lots of individual ideas.

“There is a nice range of work that they have produced. They were trying lots of different techniques to produce this work.”

Among those in attendance at the exhibition last week were parents, siblings and grandparents of the students.

Mike Deacon, the mayor of Felixstowe, was also at the exhibition while members of the public were also able to look at the work.

In total, there were nearly 100 students at the exhibition who were showing off the work they had created and explaining to onlookers what the work meant.

Mrs Allsop added: “It’s really nice to see parents come along and see work that they have not seen before. It’s also a nice opportunity to share with the community what their kids have been doing.

“Everyone who came to see it was impressed by the work they have put in and the creativity.”

As well as the students being given the chance to show off their work, it was the first time the former Deben and Orwell schools’ art departments joined together for an exhibition. The two schools were merged to create the academy.

“What was really nice about it was that it was our first exhibition as a joint art department,” she said.

“It has been really successful.”

The majority of the work that was on show during the exhibition last week had been created for the students’ final exams.

They had been given the title of Ordinary and Extraordinary as inspiration for the work they were creating.

Mrs Allsop was full of praise, not only for the results of the work, but the time and effort put in by the students.

She said: “They all worked really hard and they often came in after school and they used the fantastic environment that we have around us.”

“With the students you can see their skills growing as well as their appreciation of art and their ability to produce these pieces of work.

“Some of the pictures were absolutely fantastic. It was very well received and there was a lovely atmosphere during the exhibition.

“It was a really nice thing to share it with the community.”

There will be public exhibitions of the work done by A-Level students on June 29, July 2 and July 3. For more information, call the school on 01394 282628.