Northampton schoolchildren compete to design flags for town store

Members of an art club at Northampton School for Boys have taken part in a competition to design flags for a lifestyle store in the town.

The competition was organised by Bell of Northampton, a store situated on Kingsthorpe Road, as part of its 125^thanniversary celebrations.

Students were challenged to design a commemorative flag that draws on the store’s heritage but with a modern twist. The top three entries, judged by the team at Bell of Northampton, will be produced in real life and fly on the three flag poles that stand proudly outside the store. Amazon vouchers were also awarded to first, second and third place and a donation of £200 was made to the school to spend on a project of its choice.

A number of students across Years 7 and 8 took part in the competition with 12-year-old Wilson Rogers crowned the overall winner with his design that featured his own take on the original 1898 Bell logo on a light blue background. The judges liked the clear, non-fussy design and also the reference to Gold Street, where the shop was originally located in the town.

Second place went to Monty Whitehead, also 12, who incorporated a Union Flag into his design to reflect Bell of Northampton’s strong British heritage.

Sam Harrison’s third place design featured a gold bell on a red and yellow Northamptonshire flag. The bell also carried a rose of the shires emblem, synonymous with the county, and the number 125.

Overall winner, Wilson Rodgers, said: “Winning this competition feels awesome! I’ve always wanted to do more work with watercolours so used them in my design which was inspired by the first Bell logo. When the flag is up, I will go and have my picture taken with it and use the design in my portfolio.”

Ms Emily Clark, art teacher at Northampton School for Boys, said: “This competition was really good for the students. It not only gave them a chance to be creative but also the opportunity for them to have their work seen by the wider community outside of school.”

Lee Ferris, Managing Director of Bell of Northampton, said: “This year is a big year for us and we wanted to share it with the local community. With this in mind, we have devised a series of competitions, charity activities and events to involve school and university students, charitable organisations, local businesses and our customers in our celebrations.

“This competition was a great way to engage with a school in the town and celebrate our anniversary and we were blown away by how good the entries were.”

For more information about Bell of Northampton, visit the website at www.abell.co.uk.