Top agency snaps up Warrington student

A WARRINGTON student with an eye for design has been snapped up by an agency that counts Disney, Nike and Warner Brothers among its clients.
Tom Whitehead, who has just completed a Computer Games Design BTEC at Priestley College, was taken on by Southern GFX after helping them complete a project for Sky Television.
He said: “I had planned to take a year out and possibly start my own film and editing business, but this was too great an opportunity to miss.” “It’s great working in their office, there’s inspiration everywhere.”
Southern GFX is an international business with clients as diverse as the Royal Mint, Sainsbury’s and Lego.
Some of their most eye-catching work is for TV shows including creating gargoyles for Penny Dreadful and zombie-like characters in ITV’s the Frankenstein Chronicles.
Owner Glen Southern described Tom as “a perfect fit” for the company.
He said: “He came to us for work experience and he was so skilled already that we let him help out on a live project for SKY. That alone gave me enough confidence to hire him without hesitation.
“He’s the second young artist I’ve hired that passed through Priestley College and they come with as much experience as a final year graduate would in some cases.”
Tom has been developing his skills for design at Priestley College for the past two years.
He is on course to pick up a triple distinction when he collects his results this summer, but said his education would not end in college.
“I am always learning and if I don’t know how to do something I look it up and teach myself,” he said.