Isabelle Davies, 12th grade student, impressed the judges at this year’s Northamptonshire Schools Photography Project with her incredible shot of a sober looking seal that experts said “demonstrates the effective use of photographic skills and understanding of composition and color.”
The image was named the winner in the Wildlife Category of the competition presented by Uni Connect and Aspire Higher, a partnership of 29 universities and colleges offering outreach programs to young people between the ages of nine and 13.
Guilsborough Academy’s longtime Art Director Mr. Bird said, “It’s fantastic news that Isabelle has rightly been named the winner of this competition. The level was extremely high and we also had a number of other students who received high praise for their submissions.
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The winning picture.
“We will be using the well-deserved £ 500 prize money to expand our photography equipment in the department to ensure that students continue to have access to the latest technology to pursue their passion and show their creativity – in keeping with our ethos of” Learning without taking into account limits.
“Our arts department has been developing photography as part of the A-Level Art and Design program for a relatively short time, but during that time we’ve seen real progress and the number of students increasing every year.
“We have built close ties with the University of Northampton and competitions like this give students the opportunity to work on a real assignment and gain experience that will ultimately feed into their studies and help them achieve their potential.”
The judges added that Isabelle’s picture “provided a good insight into her impression of the subject of the photo, the ‘Seal of Disapproval,’ and responded to the letter’s request for a caption to add character to the animal.”
Georgia Watkins of the University of Northampton said, “We were very impressed with the submissions from all the students and it was very difficult to narrow so many pictures down to the top three. I hope the students enjoyed this project and are encouraged to take part in future art projects with the university and continue to be creative at home. ”