Covid heroes celebrated in adorable Royal Mail stamp designs

Youngsters from schools across Leicestershire have had their cute designs shortlisted in a Royal Mail stamp competition celebrating heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pupils attending county schools are now in with a shout of having their poignant artwork featured on thousands of letters and parcels next year.

The colourful designs of four schoolchildren are among those of 120 regional finalists in the UK postal service’s Heroes’ Stamp Competition – which saw 606,049 entries, each pay tribute to inspirational figures such as the late Captain Sir Tom Moore, the NHS and key workers.

READ MORE: More than 600,000 designs submitted by schoolchildren for Royal Mail stamps recognising pandemic heroes

It saw the Royal Mail awarded the Guinness World Record title for the largest postage stamp design competition.

Amy Wappat, 10, who is a pupil at Burton-on-the-Wolds Primary School, near Loughborough, came up with a colourful picture featuring a doctor basking in the sunshine beneath a rainbow,

Countesthorpe Academy pupil Charlie Rai, 11, entered a vibrant design depicting a nurse and a doctor.

Fenton Hopkinson, 12, of Gartree High School, in Oadby, painted a silhouette of Captain Tom – who won the hearts of the country raising money for the NHS and charities involved in the fight against the virus in the run-up to his 100th birthday – against a rainbow background.

A design by Megan Harris, 13, a pupil at Ivanhoe College, in Ashby – showing the profile of an NHS worker wearing a face mask and protective visor, surrounded by floating green coronavirus and emblazoned with the word HEROES – was also chosen by the judging panel.

They will each receive a £100 in gift vouchers and a further £100 for their school.

The competition was open to children across the UK aged between four and 14, with 7,479 schools taking part.

The regional winners will be announced in November, with eight of the winning designs eventually selected to make up a special set of Heroes of the Pandemic stamps due to be released in 2022.

Only five times in Royal Mail’s 500-year history have designs created by children been used on stamps – in 1966, 1981, 1992, 2013 and 2017.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “The designs highlight the amazing work played by key workers and others in keeping the UK connected during these unprecedented times.

“The winners will follow in the footsteps of highly acclaimed children’s illustrators who have designed stamps in the past, such as Quentin Blake, Nick Park and Axel Scheffler.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among the first to congratulate all the young people who submitted their designs.

He said: “It is of great credit to the children of this country that in world record breaking numbers they picked up their paintbrushes, pens and paints and paid artistic tribute to the heroes of our coronavirus response.

“Their brilliant efforts represent the collective gratitude of the nation to everyone who went above and beyond during the pandemic.”

He added: “Congratulations to all those who have made it to the next round and thank you to everyone who has taken part and to the teams at Royal Mail for managing this record number of entries.”

Simon Thompson, the Royal Mail’s CEO, said: “We would like to thank all of the 606,049 children who submitted such brilliant designs to the competition.

“We have been amazed and impressed by the sheer volume of entries. And to have achieved a Guinness World Records title in the process shows how much the UK’s children value those heroes who have kept the nation moving during such a difficult period.

“To the 120 regional finalists – Well Done! We are really looking forward to seeing the winning eight designs.”

To arrive at the 120 regional finalists, a network of judges, consisting of current and retired art teachers, evaluated each of the entries over the summer, with the best entries from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England chosen from each age group.

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