Year 6 pupils at Bradley Stoke’s Meadowbrook Primary School are celebrating after winning the ‘School Award’ category in the prestigious British Wildlife Photography Awards 2015.
The children’s portfolio of six photographs, taken last June in the town’s Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve, beat all competition from across the UK, including primary and secondary pupils up to age 18.
A small group of staff and three of the Year 6 pupils (James Murray, Freya Reid and Harvey Jones) attended the prize giving at the Mall Galleries in London on 16th September, where they rubbed shoulders with some of the country’s top wildlife photographers.
Speaking about the award ceremony, Freya Reid said:
“It was an amazing experience because we were the youngest there and we won!”
The pupils’ work has also been included in a stunning hardback coffee table book, ‘British Wildlife Photography Awards: Collection 6’, which showcases the very best entries from this year’s competition.
The Meadowbrook photos also feature in an exhibition of winning and commended entries at the Mall Galleries and in an exhibition tour to other galleries around the UK.
Writing in the school newsletter, Jon Barr, headteacher at Meadowbrook, said the parents of the Year 6 pupils should be proud of their children’s achievements and encouraged them to view the photographs online and, if possible, visit one of the touring exhibitions.
The winning photographs were taken during a visit to the school by top wildlife photographer Iain Green last June. Following an ‘all school’ assembly in which children saw photographs that Iain had taken of animals from all over the world, the (then Year 5) pupils were accompanied by Iain into the local nature reserve, where he helped them take their own shots using cameras he had brought along.
Summing up the whole experience, Meadowbrook pupil Tom Shadbolt said:
“It was so much fun and we really enjoyed seeing all the different plants and animals.”
Photos: (Above) Year 6 pupils with a copy of the hardback book that includes their winning photographs (l-r): James Murray, Bobby Moore, Freya Reid, Harvey Jones and Jacob Davies. (Below) Two of the school’s six winning photographs. [Credit: Meadowbrook Primary School / British Wildlife Photography Awards]
View all six winning photos: On the BPWA website; hi-res on Flickr
This article originally appeared in the October 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
