WINNER ANNOUNCED FOR CAPTURING CROYDON COMPETITION
11-year-old wins top photography prize in a new competition from The Whitgift Foundation
- 11 year old Estelle has been selected from 146 schoolchildren as the winner of the Capturing Croydon competition
- Over 400 images were submitted which captured the children’s responses to their surroundings and the changes happening to Croydon’s urban landscape
- The competition is part of a borough-wide initiative by The Whitgift Foundation, sponsored by the Croydon Partnership
Today Sarah Jones MP, Central Croydon, awarded 6 budding photographers top prizes for their images of Croydon, as part of The Whitgift Foundation’s Capturing Croydon Competition.
The Whitgift Foundation ran one-day bespoke workshops throughout March where pupils from 6 local primary schools were given the opportunity to discover Croydon through a photographic lens. Through exploring historic landmarks alongside the exciting new developments happening in Croydon, local schoolchildren engaged with their surrounding in a new and inspiring way.
Estelle, aged 11, from Atwood Primary took the winning photo at the very first Capturing Croydon workshop, in the Queen’s Gardens in the centre of Croydon.
Prizes were also awarded to runners up from the following categories:
- COMMUNITY: Adnan from All Saints Primary
- OVERALL MOOD / FEELING: Alisia from Howard Primary
- COMPOSITION: Indra from Beaumont Primary
- NATURAL VS. MANMADE: Lily from Fairchildes Primary
- OLD AND NEW: Maira from St Peters
Following multiple rounds of competitive judging, All Saints Primary was awarded the prize for overall winning school by presenting the strongest collection of images from the workshops.
Martin Corney, Chief Executive of the Whitgift Foundation “We launched this competition to engage local school children with their surroundings in Croydon and I am extremely impressed by the collection of photography that has come out of this initiative spearheaded by The Whitgift Foundation. It is great to see how the workshops have developed the children’s understanding of both Croydon’s history and its future developments’
Steve Yewman, Development Director, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield saidof the winning work: ‘Estelle’s image confidently depicts so many aspects of the regeneration of Croydon. She has captured both our growing urban landscape and our important green spaces in one shot. I am blown away by the response to the workshops from these children, who have been both surprised and delighted by Croydon.’
Jo Negrini, CEO of Croydon Council,said of the winning school: “The judging process was extremely difficult due to the outstanding quality of work across the board. The final collection from All Saints Primary wonderfully depict the both the history and future of Croydon. The winning school, and the collection of imagery as a whole, shows how Croydon’s future engage with their hometown”
-End-
Notes to editors
About The Whitgift Foundation
The Whitgift Foundation is a leading education and care charity located in Croydon. Established in 1596 by the former Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift, The Whitgift Foundation comprises of:
- Three schools – Old Palace of John Whitgift School (co-ed nursery and girls 4-18), Trinity School (boys 10-18 with a co-educational sixth form) and Whitgift School (boys 10-18 with boarding provision).
- Whitgift Care – three care homes, Whitgift House, Wilhelmina House and the Whitgift Almshouses offering a range of care provision including sheltered accommodation, full nursing care, residential care, respite and day care.
- The Carers’ Information Service – provides free information, support, advice and training to an estimated 34,000 carers in Croydon and manages the Carers Support Centre, 24 George Street.
The Whitgift Foundation currently supports approximately 46% of current pupils in its schools through financial 'means tested' bursaries. This equates to just over £5million a year to enable talented young people to benefit from the outstanding education provided by the schools
About Croydon Partnership
About Croydon Partnership’s plans for Croydon
The Croydon Partnership’s £1.4bn scheme will transform Croydon’s town centre into a major mixed-use state-of-the-art destination, which is retail, leisure and restaurant led. Alongside new public realm, the regeneration will support 7,000 jobs, new car parking and new residential units including affordable housing. This will sit at the heart of the wider regeneration of Croydon, attracting new residents and visitors back to the town centre for the benefit of all local businesses, whilst delivering a safe destination for families.
The Croydon Partnership can be followed on Twitter at @croydonpartners. You can also visit the website www.thecroydonpartnership.com