Henry receives a grand prize with his stamp design

The successful entrants in the North East section included seven-year-old Henry Varty-Lindsay, who attends Cambo First School near Morpeth.

The competition received 606,049 entries in total. Each of the 24 regional winners will receive £500 in gift vouchers and £500 for their school, and will go forward to the next stage of the competition – with a chance that their design will appear on a stamp next year.

As well as the Prime Minister, the judging panel consisted of the family of Captain Sir Tom Moore, Simon Thompson, CEO of Royal Mail, and Baroness Floella Benjamin, who said: “For many children, living through Covid-19 has been a worrying time.

“So it was great to give them the opportunity to be artistically creative and share their vision of what they have experienced and their hopes for the future. The results are inspirational.”

The competition gave schoolchildren the opportunity to mark the important role played by key and frontline workers, as well as others and their parents, during the pandemic.

The final selection of eight stamp designs will be made by His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales.

Also depicted on the designs were many volunteers who have helped in their local communities or raised money for charity.