Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) has co-sponsored the 12th annual inter-school photography competition hosted by Ringwood School.
The one-day event, taking place on Tuesday 11 March, saw more than 900 entries from 25 schools across Hampshire, Dorset, and Wiltshire in three different age categories, from Years 1–13, with an additional adult category for parents and teachers.
“The competition started 12 years ago when the Ringwood Rotary Club sought to work with us to produce a calendar for charity with photographs from the New Forest," explains Stuart Fielder, competition organiser and Head of Art at Ringwood School. "This turned into a competition for the students with the winning shots being used for the calendar.
“Over the next couple of years, other schools found out what we were doing and asked to be a part of it, and it’s just grown and grown from there. The Rotary are still very supportive but we don’t make a calendar any longer and the photos aren’t restricted in terms of subject.”
Judges included Mrs Emily Weston, Photography Course Leader at Ringwood School; Dr Geoff Ridgway and Trevor Pogson from Ringwood Rotary Club; Dr Barry Senior from the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), and Joshua Read, Course Leader of Foundation Diploma in Art, Design and Media at AUB.
The theme this year was ‘layers’, with the overall winning shot of the day awarded to Billy Dixon-Clarke from Trafalgar School.
“All the entries were of an incredible standard, and it was very difficult to choose a winner in our category," says Joshua Read.
"The winning shot for me was by Lily Cunningham-Davis from King Edward VI School with her piece, 'Silent Layers of Life'. The composition and lighting in the photograph were exceptional and the idea that that the layers were within the story rather than just in the image impressed the team. It was beautifully and skilfully captured with such incredible detail, a fantastic photograph.
“We were delighted to present Lily with a prize from AUB of a £500 voucher to spend at our AUB Academy. The Academy has a range of evening and weekend courses, summer courses and Saturday Art School, all taught on campus, which are perfect for aspiring young artists, makers, designers, and photographers like Lily. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Lily on campus soon and seeing what she creates next.”
The winners of the three student categories received vouchers for photographic equipment.
The Royal Photographic Society also awarded a certificate to their own choice of best image in each category. The ‘Young Photographer of the Year’ received the MLW Shield and a Camera Kit prize.
