Friends’ pupils success

Chloe Hassard, 17, won first prize in the Age 15-17 Poetry/Short Stories category for her poem ‘We are Different’ and received a Kindle Reader courtesy of competition co-sponsor The Co-operative Group.

Megan Smyth, 15, won the photography prize for her photo collage and in addition to receiving a digital camera she also gets to spend an experience day with a professional photographer courtesy of co-sponsor Harrison Photography.

Friends’ School had further cause for celebration when Chloe was also announced as the overall winner of the Youth Justice Agency’s competition for which she won an iPad for her school.

Open to 10 to 17 year olds the competition challenges entrants to demonstrate their views, thoughts, ideas and actions for helping to reduce youth crime within their community and thus make it a better, more exciting and safer place to live. The young people were given a choice of using arts and crafts (drawing, painting, cartoon, etc), poetry/short stories, song/rap and photography to showcase the positive contribution they make to their local communities.

Chloe and Megan were both presented with their prizes by Justice Minister, David Ford and Chief Executive of the Youth Justice Agency, Paula Jack during a prize giving ceremony in Parliament Buildings, Stormont.

Speaking at the prize giving, David Ford said: “Many young people really do make a positive contribution within their communities but seldom get the credit they deserve.

“This competition gave them the opportunity to use their artistic skills to show the positive impact they have in today’s society by presenting creative ideas for reducing youth crime and making their communities safer places to live.

“I was most impressed with the breadth of entries on display across all the categories. As fine ambassadors for their peer group, it is clear that the winners of these prizes have demonstrated both exceptional artistic talent and impressive insights into tackling a major social issue. We can learn a lot from them.

“I congratulate not just the winners, but all those who have submitted entries. They have given us considerable food for thought. I thank them for that and wish them every success with their future endeavours.”

Prizes in the competition were sponsored by The Co-operative Group and Harrison Photography.

Ms Jack added: “I am delighted with the level of support for the competition. As an Agency we are constantly seeking new ways to expand our engagement with the local community and this has given us the opportunity to reach a wide sector of young people.

“I am most encouraged by the standard of entries and particularly by the number of schools and clubs who adopted the competition as part of a special project.

“My sincere thanks go to The Co-operative Group and Harrison Photography for helping make the competition such a resounding success.”