Two Flint High School students are in with a chance to see one of their designs on a new set of stamps after being shortlisted from more than half a million entries in a record-breaking competition.
The entries by Shachow Ali, Year 8, and Jessica Roberts, Year 11, were amongst 86 designs submitted by the school to The Heroes Stamp Design Competition, which was created by Royal Mail to honour those who have gone above and beyond to help others during the pandemic.
Shachow and Jessica’s designs are in the top 120 regional finalists out of an astonishing 606,049 entries from 7,479 schools across the UK.
They have each won £100, and £100 each for the school. A special panel of judges will now decide the winning 24 regional designs which will be announced next month. Eight designs will then be selected as the final winners, and these will become official Royal Mail stamps that will be issued next Spring.
The amazing number of entries helped secure a Guinness World Records title for the largest postage stamp design competition.
Jessica Roberts' stamp design.
All Flint High School students who entered will receive a certificate for being part of the World Record and the school will also receive a special certificate in recognition of its contribution to the World Record.
Claire Evans, head of Year 11 and art, led the competition. She said: “All the entries from Flint High were wonderful. I am so proud of all the students who took part and who worked so hard in class and at home to complete their designs.
“Our huge congratulations go to Shachow and Jessica, they are so talented. Their designs are outstanding in both their artistic skill and in their reflection of the brief.
"It is an incredible achievement for our school to have two students reach the final 120 stage and I wish them the very best of luck in the final stages of judging.”
Shachow Ali's stamp design.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, appeared in a video addressing all school children ahead of the start of the competition explaining how this was an opportunity to give recognition to their Covid hero, whether it be a teacher, someone who had supported them or their family or, of course, the inspirational Captain Tom.
Shachow’s design is a drawing of Captain Tom. He said: “I was very surprised to be selected as one of the finalists, I never expected it.
"My family are very excited and happy for me. It has been a great experience to be involved in the competition.”
Jessica’s design illustrates health workers from around the world who have worked so hard to save lives during the pandemic.
She said: “I was also very excited to be selected, it was totally unexpected. This is such an exciting opportunity and to think that my design or Shachow’s could potentially appear on stamps is amazing.
"My family are so pleased and we’re all excited to hear what the judges decide next month.”
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