Have we found the next Picasso of Belsize Park in bookmark competition?
Fitzjohn's pupils with Greene&Co estate agents Craig Draper, left, and Jack Peet, right, and headteacher Rob Earrey, centre. Picture: Nigel Sutton - Credit: Nigel Sutton
Art-loving young winners of a drawing competition had their colourful depictions of Hampstead and Belsize Park turned into bookmarks to encourage more pupils to read.
Schoolchildren up to the age of 11 at two primary schools celebrated the areas in which they live with vibrant drawings of Hampstead Heath, the famous crepe stall La Creperie de Hampstead, their schools and their homes, among other well-loved landmarks – all for a contest to find the next Picasso of Belsize Park.
The five winners had their artistic creations turned into bookmarks, which will be handed out to other schools in Camden for avid young readers to use.
Fitzjohn’s Primary School, in Fitzjohn’s Avenue, Hampstead, and all-girls The Village School, in Parkhill Road, Belsize Park, both took part in the competition.
Rob Earrey, headteacher at Fitzjohn’s, said: “What was nice is that the children picked up on the fact that they are in a green area of London.
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“Some had also drawn representations of their journeys to school, things they see which we might take for granted all the time but that they have seen and picked up on.”
The five winners were crowned last week as seven-year-olds Valentine, Jessica, Bella, Leticia, and Mia.
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Mr Earrey said that the standard of submissions was very high, describing many of them as “colourful” and “beautiful”.
“Our children and I think the children from the other school have a wider sense of the wider world than many others, who might never leave the local area,” he said. “However sometimes it is really worth valuing what is around you.”
The contest was run by the Belsize Park branch of estate agents Greene&Co, in Haverstock Hill.
A spokesman for Greene&Co said: “Community is such an important part of our company and we believe that it’s about capturing the attention and involvement of the whole family. To be able to give children the opportunity to get creative and passionate about where they live was not only inspiring but something we want to continue and grow as we evolve as a company.”
The contest is part of Greene&Co’s Love Belsize Park project, for which they have also produced a pocket guide celebrating the area’s top attractions.
View all the competition entries at greene.co.uk/love-where-you-live.
CROSS REF To request a bookmark, call 020 3772 7612, email belsizepark@greene.co.uk or visit Greene&Co at 161 Haverstock Hill, Belsize Park, NW3 4QT.