Related Articles
In honour of two students’ success in winning the Royal Mail’s ‘Heroes of the Pandemic’ stamp design competition, Flint High School held a celebratory event to present the talented pair with Certificates of Outstanding Achievement.
Shachow Ali, year 8, and Jessica Roberts, year 11, are two of just eight winners of the competition which attracted a record-breaking number of entries, over 600,000. The competition was created by Royal Mail to honour those who have gone above and beyond to help others during the pandemic.
The students’ parents watched with pride as Shachow and Jessica were awarded their certificates by Clare Millington, acting headteacher.
Special guests in attendance included: Andrea Roberts, Chair of Governors; Claire Homard, Chief Officer for Education & Youth; Sian Jones-Evans, headteacher at St.Winefride’s Catholic Primary School in Holywell (Jessica’s primary school); Lynda Jones, head of keystage 2 at Ysgol Gwynedd Primary School (Shachow’s primary school); and the Rev’d Dr Richard Hainsworth, Church of St Mary and St David, Flint.
Claire Evans, head of year 11 and art, realised the student’s stunning designs were worthy of winning as soon as she saw them.
She said: “I am so proud of Shachow and Jessica, they are truly deserving winners. They are both such talented artists and their designs are outstanding in their artistic skill and in their reflection of the design brief.”
“It is an incredible achievement for our school to have two winners in this high-profile competition which generated such a massive number of entries.’
“Shachow and Jessica are so humble, it has been a whirlwind since they learnt that they were among the eight finalists, but they have coped admirably, even making an appearance on television.”
“I look forward to seeing their art develop, and I have no doubt that they both have exciting futures ahead if they decide to pursue careers within the field of art and design.”
Shachow’s design is a stunning drawing of the irrepressible Captain Tom, and Jessica’s thoughtful design brilliantly illustrates health workers from around the world who have worked so hard to save lives during the pandemic.
The new stamps are on sale from today, 23rd March.
Claire Homard, Flintshire Council Chief Officer for Education & Youth and Jessica
Shachow said: “I was so surprised to be selected as one of the winners, I never expected it. My family are so pleased and happy for me. It has been a great experience to be involved in the competition.”
Jessica said: “I was also thrilled to be selected as a winner; it was totally unexpected.”
“Knowing that my design and Shachow’s will appear on stamps is amazing, it still hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
“My family are so pleased, and I would like to thank the school for giving us the opportunity and support to enter the competition.”
Sian Jones-Evans and Lynda Jones both said how proud they, and their schools, were of the students and that their artistic talent had shone through from a young age.
The Rev’d Hainsworth will be displaying the students’ artwork in the church with a selection of other entries from the school to share with the community.
At the event, he presented Shachow and Jessica with a congratulatory letter from the Right Rev’d Gregory J Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, who is himself a designer.
Claire Homard, Chief Officer for Education & Youth, Flintshire County Council, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to be able to attend the special event at Flint High School to meet Jessica and Shachow and congratulate them on their fantastic achievement in winning this prestigious national competition to design commemorative Royal Mail stamps to acknowledge the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Both designs are stunning and reflect how artistically talented both of these students are.”
“It was also a great opportunity to meet staff from Flint High School’s art department, as well as staff from their former primary schools, who have done so much to nurture their talents.”
“I wish both Jessica and Shachow every success for the future and look forward to seeing where their artistic skills take them next.”
Mrs Millington said: “This is a phenomenal achievement, and we are all so incredibly proud of Shachow and Jessica.”
“I feel privileged to have such outstanding students in our school, they are wonderful role models for other students and a credit to themselves, their families, and the school.”
“They have shown that through having a passion for something you believe in, and working hard, you can achieve great things.”
“I would like to thank everyone for coming today. It is lovely to celebrate Shachow and Jessica’s success with representatives from the local community and the local authority.”
As well as seeing their designs as stamps, each winner has a special dedicated postmark that will celebrate their achievement. The postmark will be applied to stamped mail delivered to addresses nationwide.
Spotted something? Got a story? Send a Facebook Message | A direct message on Twitter | Email: News@Deeside.com
