IMMERSED in a molecule, the latest small person seen outside a Basingstoke school is a little different.

Made of galvanised steel, the figure standing on a plinth in front of Everest Community College is the sixth and final piece of artwork to grace the new school, which relocated from Popley Way, in Popley, to Merton Rise last September.

Joseph Hillier created the £10,500 sculpture, entitled Beyond Number, after receiving a commission by Basingstoke-based craft and design education charity The Making.

The work, which stands at about 3.5 metres, was swung into place by a crane on Thursday.

Explaining the meaning of the figure being inside the molecule, the Newcastle-based sculptor said: "It's this idea of being consumed by the information that you are bombarded with when you're at school.

"It's about trying to create an evocative image which the people who use this building respond to - it will resonate with them."

He said the molecule, a representation of carbon isotope C60, was selected because it corresponds to the mathematical figure phi and a form first drawn by 15th century artist Leonardo da Vinci.

The sculpture draws upon the Fibonacci sequence from mathematics, which is a theme repeated around the school.

Mr Hillier explored the ideas with pupils at a school workshop last year.

Looking at the sculpture, Year 7 pupil Reece Lawson, 11, said: "I think it's quite creative. I like the shape of the base with all the diamonds and different layers and they layer into one shape.

"I like the person on top - how it's made up of pieces of metal."

The other artworks created for the school include Basingstoke artist Linda Hasking's mural, a carved oak column, a mathematics-inspired sculpture reflecting the viewer, a piece by Essex artists using welded steel tubes to reflect astronomical patterns and Portsmouth artist Peter Codling's seating based on the human face.

Headteacher Julie Rose said: "I think it's wonderful for children to have these opportunities to see art displayed in this way."