"Great job!"; "Well done"; "Great idea" were some of the sentiments expressed by passersby as they walked, rode and drove past the nine murals on Pitts Bay Road during a recent lunch hour.

The panels, designed and painted by local middle school students, were created as a result of the Middle School Painting Challenge launched by the Green Family and Berco in collaboration with the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

Travelling west out of Hamilton passersby will see the panels in the following order:

Clearwater Middle School's map of Bermuda with Clearwater under the magnifying glass; Bermuda High School's painter painting the Bermuda flag; T. N. Tatem's row of young Bermudian students; Saltus Grammar School's collage of Bermuda moods; Dellwood Middle School's panel featuring land and sea; Somersfield Academy's message of 'Peace, Unity and Love'; Mount Saint Agnes Academy's look back at Bermuda 'Once upon a time'; Learning Express Academy's larger-than-life hibiscus and gombey; Whitney Institute's vision of children playing peacefully; Sandys Secondary's reflections of West End life and The Education Centre's keen eye reflecting a map of Bermuda.

Sandys Secondary's painting team of 15 students "had a great time participating" according to Brittany Haley. Ethan Rogers felt, "It was hard work, but worth it in the end." "Challenging"," "fun, "a good group experience", "wonderful" were some of the adjectives other students chose to describe their efforts. Catrina Fubler concluded, "We had a good time. If I had to do it again, I would."

The BHS panel was entirely student generated, and in fact, combines two of the five concepts submitted to the selection committee. Six students came up with the concept of painting a student painting, while the painting within the painting – a Bermuda flag with other symbols of Bermuda – was the brainchild of Rhiannon Fletcher. Across the top of the painting are the outlines of 19 young artists, representing the artistic collaborators themselves as well as the multi-cultural nature of Bermudian society as a whole.

Zoë Simmons, the designer of the Saltus panel, was greatly relieved to see the sunshine Tuesday afternoon. Her design, the different moods of Bermuda, incorporates Johnny Barnes, May 24, parrot fish and buses, among other things.

"It's nice how it turned out," Zoë reflected, "since yesterday it was raining, and it was depressing."

One pedestrian who passes by daily thought the whole concept was great. He expressed the hope that as the building project behind the hoardings was expected to take three years to complete, the hoardings would be renewed each year. He was impressed by how excited the children were about the project and how pleased they were with their efforts.

Bright and vivid when seen from a car, the panels incorporate a great deal of detail and are well-worth a closer look.