Derbyshire primary school pupils Lauren Smedley and Rebecca Wright received a special visitor at their schools when the Bishop of Derby presented them with a prize for winning an art competition to design his Christmas card.

The competition was advertised to schools at the start of the autumn term and invited children to create a design under the title ‘What Christmas means to me’, encouraging them to think creatively about how to express their perception of Christmas through art. It was aimed primarily at the 110 Church of England primary schools across Derbyshire, but all primary schools in the county were free to enter. There were two entry categories for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 aged children, so two winning designs were chosen.

The Key Stage 1 category winner of the competition was six year old Lauren from Breadsall CofE Primary School. She created a colourful design using pencils and felt tips.

The Bishop thought her design conveyed fun and joy. He said: “Lauren’s design is full of smiling faces and bright colours, which I think conveys the joy of Christ’s birth. It seems she has thought quite carefully about the layout, which has a lot in it without looking messy. She has included a jolly Santa character around the edges, which acknowledges that this figure, and gift-giving, is part of the tradition of Christmas, but this doesn’t distract from Jesus as the main focal point.”

Rebecca Wright, 11, a pupil at Fitzherbert CofE Primary School, in Fenny Bentley, won first place in the Key Stage 2 age category. She created a simple but effective design using watercolours. The design depicts a nativity scene with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in a manger with the star above the stable.

The Bishop chose Rebecca’s design for its simplicity and strong focus on the nativity family. He said: ”Rebecca’s design communicates a very pertinent message about the meaning of Christmas. I like the fact that the main focus is on Jesus in the manger, conveying a great sense of importance and significance about his birth. She has used calming colours, so the whole image has a sense of peace about it. It conveys a very strong message about what Christmas means and I will be delighted to use this card, and Lauren’s, to send to my family, friends and vast range of colleagues throughout Derbyshire, the UK and the World.”

Two runners up were also chosen; Abigail Lee, aged six, from Chapel-en-le-Frith CofE Primary School, and Anna Pye, aged 10 from Mapperley CofE Primary School. The Bishop thought these designs were excellent too and said he had found it difficult to make a choice between them all.

The two winning children have been given a pack of Christmas cards made with their designs to send to their own family and friends and have also received books and book tokens from the Bishop as part of the prize. Runners up from each entry category received book tokens. Bishop Alastair has visited each school to personally present the prizes, with Lauren’s being the final presentation.

The Bishop added: “Looking through all the entries, I was encouraged that so many children in our schools showed such maturity in their perception of what Christmas means – the peace, joy and significance to humanity of Christ’s birth.”

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