THE artistic talents of high school students from across Warrington & Vale Royal College’s catchment area have gone on display as part of the college’s first ‘Young Artist of the Year’ competition.
The impressive exhibition showcases the fantastic work entered by finalists from Golborne High School, Hartford C of E High School, Lowton C of E High School and Penketh High School.
More than 50 people showed up to the event, with parents and teachers on hand to watch as finalists collected certificates and medals in recognition of their hard work.
Sarah Eckersley was named as the winner of the event, taking home the £100 cash and the title of Young Artist of the Year 2018.
The Year 11 Golborne High School pupil – whose painting featured a portrait of her sister, half covered in mandalas – said: “It feels fantastic to have won. I really didn’t think I would win but I’m really pleased – today has been a good day!”
Young Artist of the Year was organised by the college’s school engagement team, in partnership with the art and design department.
It saw pupils in years 10 and 11 invited to submit a photograph of their artwork before the competition deadline in the spring term.
Finalists were then chosen by Ben Brady, Curriculum Manager for Art, Design, Fashion & Textiles, and invited to attend a special awards evening at the college’s Warrington campus.
Ben said: “This is the first time we have held Young Artist of the Year at the college and it’s safe to say that we were absolutely blown away by the standard of work submitted. Whilst the competition was initially for year 10 and 11 students, we even had some entries from year 9 pupils that were of an incredibly high standard.
“The artistic talents of these young students made judging an extremely difficult and overwhelming task and whilst we could only pick one winner, every single one of our finalists should feel incredibly proud of themselves. I hope they continue to pursue their passion for art and look forward to teaching some of them at Warrington & Vale Royal College in the coming years.”
School Engagement Officer Lauren Dower added: “The inaugural Young Artist of the Year competition has been a resounding success. Events like this are extremely important in engaging with young students and gives them the opportunity to showcase their talents on a larger scale. It was great to see the pupils taking photographs alongside their artwork, holding their certificates and wearing their medals.
“We’ve already had some pupils enquiring about next year’s competition – we cannot wait to build on the success of this year’s event and hope to have even more students take part next year.”
Young Artist of the Year is the first of a series of competitions being held by Warrington & Vale Royal College in the coming months, with entries now open for Junior Masterchef.
You can see more photographs from the event on our Flickr page.
To find out more about the opportunities available at Warrington & Vale Royal College, visit wvr.ac.uk
