03 Jul Student from Hutton All Saints Primary School the recipient of £1,000 prize
A student from Hutton All Saints Primary School is the recipient of a first place prize for her creative art skills celebrating the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in a competition run by The Baytree Shopping Centre.
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For the celebrations, local schools were invited to take part in an art competition inspired by the upcoming celebrations, and design a stadium to host a sport or a variety of sports out of recycled materials. The winning entry would receive a £1,000 donation for their school and the winner a hamper of items made up from Poundland at the centre.
The competition proved very popular and saw a range of entries from various schools in Brentwood and the surrounding areas. The overall winner was Ava Austin, a Year 5 pupil from Hutton All Saints Primary School, who designed a bright and colourful rugby stadium for the Olympic and Paralympic team. The entry had an eco theme, decorated to be inspired by nature in light of the sustainability focus of the challenge, and captured the attention of the judges.
All entries submitted to the competition are available to view at a pop-up exhibition at The Baytree Shopping Centre, now open during shopping centre hours and located next to Sports Direct. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the exhibition on their trip to the centre, which features a range of High Street favourites and local independents.
image008.jpgAva was presented with a giant cheque for £1,000 on Monday 1st July, with her mother and Head Teacher Mrs Manookian, at the official opening of the exhibition. The red ribbon was cut by the Mayor Councillor Mark Haigh, who attended this special occasion to offer his congratulations to Ava on her fantastic stadium.
Jeanette Manookian, Head Teacher of Hutton All Saints School commented “We are incredibly proud of Ava for designing such a wonderful Olympic stadium out of recycled materials. We very much enjoyed looking at all the entries and many children had clearly worked hard on their designs.
Jeanette continued “We were really surprised and of course very pleased to learn that one of our pupils had won the competition – what an achievement! We thank Ava and her family for entering and The Baytree for organising such a lovely event. To win £1,000 for our school is amazing and we will use the funds for much needed learning resources for our children.”
Mayor Councillor Mark Haigh commented “I am so impressed with the creative thought and design that has gone into each and every entry. This is a wonderful way to celebrate the biggest sporting event in the world. The jewel in these crowns is that everything is made out of recycled material. Congratulations to Ava and everyone who has entered.”
The attendees of the official opening took the time to browse the fantastic entries on display, which will be available for public viewing in the run up to the Olympic Games. The entries included stadiums designed for a wide array of sports, from athletics to diving, and encapsulated the team spirit that the Games stand for.
Maria Kyriacou-Edwards, General Manager of The Baytree Shopping Centre, commented “We would like to express our thanks to everyone who entered our competition, and especially to Ava for designing and building such a creative stadium to host the rugby. We were blown away with the standard of entries, and encourage our shoppers to stop by the exhibition on their next shopping trip – we are blessed with so much talent in our town and it is fantastic to be able to celebrate it!”
