SIR Antony Gormley the famous British sculptor and creator of the Angel of the North in Gateshead, has donated an original painting to Chippenham's Sheldon School to raise money for their library refurbishment.

Named ‘WAIT’, painted in 2015, it is19.2cm by 14.1cm, and shows a human figure.

Art teacher Indigo Moss and A Level art students wrote to a range of celebrities, artists and writers asking them to return an original postcard sized artwork. The initial auction, before Christmas, sold works from celebrities such as Alan Bennett, Julia Donaldson, Stephen Fry, Dame Judy Dench and Gilbert and George amongst others.

Due to the estimated value of the Gormley art work it was decided to auction it separately. Bonhams fine art auctioneers in London agreed to auction the painting and have waived their usual fee. With an estimated value of somewhere between £4,500 and £10,000, it will be sold at auction on the March 6 in Bonhams’ Post-War and Contemporary Art sale in London.

Headteacher Mr Neil Spurdell said: "We were delighted when Antony Gormley responded to our request in our recent postcard auction by sending in a personal painting. His art is world-renowned and we were thrilled that he took the time to do this for us. Part of me is sad to be handing this on, but of course I am very hopeful that it will raise a significant sum of money towards our library project."