Students living in and around Swindon are being invited to take part in a competition with cash prizes to celebrate their talent.
The Cotswold Challenge is aimed at young people who, had it not been for the pandemic, would have been taking their GCSEs, A-Levels or equivalent examinations in 2021.
The competition was established by four businesses from the region: Chute Design; Allison Murray Design; Chris Roberts MBE PR and Scott Media.
The four came together in 2020 to launch the Challenge as a way of providing support and an incentive to students set to miss out on their exams.
The competition will officially launch on Tuesday 1st June with a closing date of Tuesday 6th July.
Fiona Scott, Founder of Scott Media, said, “My daughter was one of those young people last year who left school with 48 hours’ notice, with no A-Level examinations, no long goodbye with friends and it was heart-breaking. To be able to offer young people an opportunity to shine in another forum is amazing.
“We felt it was right to do the same thing this year. First prize winners will get £500 each and a mini professional photo shoot to support them on the next stage of their lives.”
The initiative was deemed a huge success in 2020 with around 500 entries across the categories of Art & Design; Creative Writing; and Innovation & Entrepreneurial Thinking.
The prizes in each category for 2021 are £500 for first place, £300 for second, £150 for third and £50 for fourth alongside £25 book tokens for highly commended entries.
This year there will also be a Special Recognition Award for Outstanding Talent in each category.
Entries will be judged by professionals from the local community including:
Art & Design:
Val & Martin Adamson – The Sculpture Studio
Lady Bathurst of Cirencester Park
Martin Burgess – Art Gallery Owner & Artist
Trevor Hart – Creative Writer, Artist & Commercial Photographer
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen – Interior Designer & TV Presenter
Lucy McMillan-Scott – Portrait Artist
Nic Vickery – Artist
Sally Wyatt – Artist
Creative Writing:
Angela Atkinson – Author & Swindon Blogger
Paul Cottrell – Creative Writer & Oil Artist
Kim Harvey – Owner of The Mad Hatter Bookshop
Amanda Jennings – Author
C L Taylor – Author
Enterprise & Innovation:
Nicky Godding – Editor of Business & Innovation Magazine
Adam Henson – Farmer & TV Presenter
Andy Langley – CEO of Ntegra
Verity Manners – Wrag Barn Golf Club
Caroline Summers – Owner of The Paperback Shop
Jeevan Thandi – Enterprize
Ruth Waddingham – Designer & Innovator
This year’s sponsors are:
Enterprize
Ernest Cook Trust
Fraser Allen Estate Management
Revolution Performing Arts
The Royal Agricultural University
The Paperback Shop
Kevin Wignall
To find out more, please visit: www.thecotswoldchallenge.com
Pictured Left to Right: Allison Murray of Allison Murray Design, Fiona Scott of Scott Media, Nigel Chute of Chute Design and Chris Roberts of Chris Roberts PR.
