Hundreds of little flags were planted at Richmond College last week, as part of an initiative to help students affected by dyslexia.

The flags were planted under direction of artist Jon Adams, a fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts, who is dyslexic himself and explained to students how art helped him tackle his learning disability and involved them in a practical workshop.

Students made flags by cutting out pages from old books and set them in the college quad to form a stylised heart representing freedom and, as Mr Adams said: “A marking and crossing of boundaries that are imposed on us by others.”

A spokesman from the college said: “The sound made by the fluttering flags could be heard throughout the surrounding classrooms, it was a sound of liberty, hope and obstacles overcome.”

Mr Adams, who could barely read or write at 11 years old and was ridiculed by his teachers, described Richmond students as “fabulous” on his Twitter account and was positively struck by the atmosphere created while working with them.

The artist’s visit was part of a nationwide project supported by the London 2012 Olympics, Dysarticulate 3, which aims to make people reflect upon the boundaries of disability, through planting 1m flags around the country.