Well done to the young artists at Brooke Weston Academy whose designs made the top four in BWA’s annual winter card competition.

Simona Liberte (Y13), came in first place with her snowman drawing, winning herself a hamper of chocolate delights and the honour of having her design featured on the front of the Academy’s official 2024 winter card.

She said, ‘I have entered the competition a few times before this but have never been placed, so I was very happy to have finally won and excited that my design will be on the front of the BWA card. I got my inspiration from the stars at night and knew that I wanted to draw a Snowman against the night sky. I used watercolours and then used a white gel pen for the stars.’

The runners-up all received prizes of chocolates. In joint second place were Natalia Bialas (Y8), who impressed with her outdoor snow scene, and Victoria Mann (Y13) with her charming fox and tree scene.

Natalia said, ‘I got the inspiration for my design from visiting houses with my family that have been decorated for the festive season and I used pencils and alcohol markers which are very good for blending. This was the second time I’ve entered the competition and I came second last time too, so I will definitely keep entering and will hope to eventually come first.’

Victoria said, ‘I’ve entered the competition every year since Year 7 and was placed first two years ago. The inspiration for me was to design a winter scene rather than a traditional Christmas design and I liked the contrast in the colours of the trees and the foxes. I used a combination of oil, pastels, pen, pencil and watercolours on my design.’

Amelia Cybulska (Y8), captured third place with her design of red robins on a snowy branch. She said, ‘I got my inspiration from nature and I wanted to incorporate birds into my design and the Red Robin is very festive. I used watercolours to create my design, and it’s the first time I’ve ever entered the competition, so I was surprised when I found out my design won 3^rd place.’

Head of Art, Charlotte Marriott said, ‘We had about 50 entries and the art department chose the top 10 with the Principal Clare Haworth having the difficult task of choosing the winners. Well done to all participants for their fantastic efforts and creativity! It is always a pleasure to see how creative and imaginative our students are, and we look forward to seeing more amazing designs next year.’