Swindon's Students Mistaken For Works Of Art ; Auctioneer Gets Valuation

A school party visiting Swindon's Old Town Art Gallery caused a small stir in the art world this lunchtime by being mistaken for works of art by several visiting critics at the gallery.

'' We had sat down to have our lunch out in the foyer, siting under a Picasso, when our form teacher went off to get a cup of tea, some of the lads started posing when a guide was bringing round a group of arty type critics and it all kicked off.'' That quote from Sarah Sampson, of East Swindon Comprehensive, 16 of form 11Z.

Some of the returning teachers thought the crowd gathered in the room were looking at a new piece on display.

Swindon's gallery has one of the largest stocks of public art held by a Council, much of which is stored, with display space limited. Rumours a pensioner visiting overheard a gallery attendant telling our reporter this got the wrong end of the stick and assumed that meant serveral schoolchildren were being shackled in the gallery's cellar, never seing the light of day have been strongly denied.

Swindon Centric Says ; We've learned those kids come up for auction as pieces of modern art at an auction house in town at the end of next week. One critic was overheard that they thought the 'kids having lunch' piece worked on ''so many levels'', he may have been talking about the lift at the gallery, we've been unable to determine.