ARTISTIC school pupils have produced their own map of Wanstead to help foster community links and encourage walking.

Year 8 students from Wanstead High School combined drawings and photographs of the area to create the work, which has been distributed to shops and the Corner House in the High Street.

The map also features commentary from pupils reflecting on life in Wanstead, including assurances to residents that "most youngsters are young and lovely but there are a few naughty ones" and "my message to young people is look after Wanstead - keep it pleasant".

Its production was overseen and funded by London Councils, an umbrella group which represents the capital's local authorities, as part of its Living Streets scheme.

Pupils went out and met with businesses and residents as part of their research for the map to find out more about attitudes in the community.

Bryan Arkell, assistant headteacher at Wanstead High School, said: “this fantastic opportunity came about after I met Tom, from Living Streets, at a Wanstead Business Partnership meeting.  "The project has seen many areas of the school working together, we have seen Art encouraging students to create images and take photographs of favourite locations, the Geography team investigating maps while the English, Maths and PSHCE departments also got in on the act and made contributions to the final design."

Year 8 pupil Hannah Tune said: “it was nice to show local people what we are really like and we were also pleased to find out that people thought better of us as teenagers than we had imagined.”

A spokesman for Living Streets said: "We’re doing this work across London by selecting the streets and places where changes have made them better for pedestrians.

"We’re telling people about the benefits of walking with the hope of inspiring them to walk more in these areas as part of their daily routine and journeys."

Visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/stepoutinwanstead/ to download a copy of the map.