Northleigh House School for children who have faced serious challenges such as bullying and anxiety, has launched an online charity postcard art auction.

Bidders have the unmissable chance to compete for 90 original signed artworks on postcards, including some by household names such as Sir Grayson Perry, The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood and the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant, with bidding on all lots starting at just £10.

Northleigh House School’s Head of Art Aysha Cook received an overwhelming response from the artists and creative figures she contacted to donate artworks. The money raised will used by the school in Hatton, near Warwick to support existing students and for expansion into a new site.

The school’s Chair and Co-founder Viv Morgan comments: “All of us at Northleigh are so excited about our postcard auction, featuring fantastic one-off artworks to support our school. The funds raised thanks to Aysha’s dedication, and the generosity of artists and bidders will help us to continue to champion our existing students every day.

placeholder image — Queen and Cat by Grayson Perry

“In addition to this we have exciting news; we are expanding Northleigh House School by opening our second site down the road from our existing school!”

The eBay-style timed online auction is online now and closes at 5pm on Sunday, 6th October. It is being hosted by Market Harborough-based Gildings Auctioneers and the-saleroom.com, who are waiving all auction charges to ensure every penny of each winning bid goes directly to the school.

Artworks in the sale cater for a huge range of tastes and budgets and are estimated to sell between £50 - £1,000. However, every lot is being sold without reserve, so the maximum bid on each artwork will secure it.

“At Gildings we're firm believers in the influence art can have on a child's development. So, when Aysha approached us with this fantastic fundraiser, how could we not help?” comments Gildings director Will Gilding. “The list of artists who have so generously given their time and talent to the appeal is incredible. Not only will their art support the pupils at Northleigh House School financially, it also demonstrates that with creativity, ambition and dedication - as shown by their head of art - they can go on to achieve great things!”

Sir Grayson Perry has drawn a queen and a cat in his unmistakable style, which could make between £600 - £1000. Ronnie Wood has opted for an inspirational message with a guide price of £100 - £200, while Patrick Grant offers an evocative photographic collage of the Ark of Bukhara, estimated at just £50 - £100.

Fans of renowned British artists Patrick Hughes and David Wightman will instantly recognise these artists’ striking contributions, which are expected to attract bids of £200 - 400 and £50 - £100 respectively. A highlight from several contributions from the world of children’s books are two drawings of Winnie and Wilbur of the popular books illustrated by Korky Paul, with a guide price of £100 - £200 each. Fans of the BBC’s The Repair Shop can bid on ceramic conservator Kirsten Ramsay’s Delft Tile, which has a guide price of £50 - £80.

Other notable contributions include artworks by Royal Academician artist Peter Randall-Page, royal wedding photographer Pawel Libera, The Levellers’ bassist Jeremy Cunningham, and stage and set designer to Beyonce and U2, Es Devlin.

Northleigh House School was set up by Viv and Fred Morgan in their home in 2012 to help secondary school children who were missing out on their education due to issues including anxiety, learning difficulties, bullying and autism. This enormous undertaking was made possible by the hard work of the Morgans and their team, as well as the continuous support of the wider community.

As a result, over 170 secondary school-age students have had the opportunity to develop their full potential by following individual educational programmes in the nurturing environment and beautiful surroundings of Northleigh, with 36 pupils currently on roll.

“We receive new enquiries from parents desperate to find a school setting for their child every day, so we have an ever-increasing waiting list,” adds Viv Morgan. “The funds raised will be very gratefully received and crucial in enabling us to continue our very important work equipping children with the skills they need to be successful in the outside world.”

To find out more about the auction and to register and bid, please visit www.gildings.co.uk/northleigh