Kentish Express Ashford & District
Artist’s £10k gift to his old school
A world-renowned artist has donated £10,000 to his old school to thank his former teacher.
Sam Cox, better known as Mr Doodle, returned to Homewood School in Tenterden to hand over the super-sized cheque.
The money will go to Homewood’s art and graphic design department, where he first developed his distinctive style.
The 27-year-old has gained more than 2.8million followers on Instagram and despite having had a relatively short career so far, his pieces already fetch six-figure prices.
Mr Doodle’s work often does the rounds on social media, with one video of his process gaining more than 32million views.
He visited last Wednesday to hand over the cheque but frequently returns to the school to run creative workshops.
He has even decorated several spaces within the school with his intricate and fun doodles.
He said: “Homewood School has always been such an important place to me. I have such fond memories of drawing away endlessly with such amazing encouragement and guidance from my teachers. I really value those years, and the work I created at Homewood still remains amongst my favourites.
“Whilst drawing each day, my mind still reverts back to the classroom and my graphics lessons, which is where it all began for me. It feels great to be able to give something back to the school, the department and the teacher who gave me so many opportunities and so much support.
“Mr Davies is an inspirational teacher and even to this day he still regularly advises me on my work. I cannot thank him enough. I truly hope that the donation will help to provide something that the department and the students lucky enough to study graphic design at Homewood will find useful for years to come.”
Teacher Morgan Davies said: “Sam has always given generously of his time to encourage and coach students to find and express their creativity but this donation was completely unexpected. We haven’t yet decided what we will use the money for; we need to think carefully about ensuring it will benefit the maximum number of students.”