A foundation studies student at Truro and Penwith College has had his art chosen by Tate St Ives for exhibition this autumn.

The gallery has offered Jake Sperling, a student who finds it difficult to communicate and to concentrate but has found an outlet through painting, the opportunity to exhibit his work as part of its SWITCH festival in September.

Tamsyn Drew, Jake's tutor, said: “We noticed that Jake had a compulsion to paint and a real love of the act. We invested in large rolls of heavy weight paper and encouraged him to develop by setting non-verbal challenges and visual problems for him to solve.

“Jake has become a confident painter. He has distinct preferences for colours, types of paint and brush size. He navigates the paper differently each week and has developed his own unique technique.

“Painting focusses and calms Jake, allowing him to listen more acutely to questions and search for answers. Jake has also been encouraging his peers to be expressive and work big.”

“This is an amazing opportunity for Jake and for the foundation studies students to be recognised for their contribution to the art exhibition which is primarily for mainstream students. Art is a great tool for our students who sometimes find it hard to communicate. They use colour and images to express themselves freely which is often a release and calms them.”

Other winners from Truro and Penwith who will have their art shown at Tate St Ives were Ellie Spiers, and Levi Norris A-level photography students, Felix Birchley, a level three art and design student, and Martha Maneer, a level two art and design student. Highly commended were Torla Lyne, Jason Chan, Tommy Lucas, Gabriel Brolly, Aaron Manning.