Squirrel is a vibrant shop in town with the ever-famous slogan of being filled with buried treasure; so we were delighted when Katie Holmes and the Squirrel Team approached the school to run a photography competition for Y7, 8 and 9 through the Enrichment Program.

Students were given two themes to photograph over the course of the winter lockdown: Family and Ulverston, with the aim to capture special memories with everyone at home or of our local town.

We were also really lucky to have famous Lake District photographer James Hughes give weekly tips to students over Teams on how to capture the best images. This clearly paid off as we were overwhelmed with over 100 photos from 30 different photographers across KS3 which were then sent off for judging. The Squirrel Shop staff were the judges for the competition and were so impressed with the quality of entries they even decided to donate 4 runner-up prizes as well as the two main winners!

But who were the winners?

Ulverston Theme

The judges said: 'Congratulations Ben on your winning photo of Ulverston! You captured the perfect contrast between the eclectic rooftops and windows of the town with the sun shining down on them against the dark and brooding clouds above Hoad.'

Runner up: Naomi

The judges said: 'Naomi’s prize winning entry captured the stillness of the canal with tranquil reflections on the water. The lush, green vegetation framed the edges before leading your eye onto the evening sunset; perfect!'

Runner up: Thomas

The judges said: 'Thomas’ dramatic photo captured two beautiful natural phenomenon. The glistening sea ice with its sharp and crisp edges was illuminated by the sunsets we were treated to throughout winter. This really is a photo showing winter at its very best.'

Family Theme

The judges said: 'Congratulations to Marley for being the winner of the family category for the competition! The composition of this photograph impressed everyone who saw it, and it beautifully captured the fun families had outside during lockdown.'

Runner up: Harry

The judges said: 'Harry’s prize winning family photo captured a moment of pure happiness between siblings and pets! At a time when everyone was at home for so long creating happy memories was really important and this is a perfect example.'

Runner up: Anika

The judges said: 'Anika’s photo captured the beauty of Cumbria in snow this winter with a low sun and cool blue tones in the sky and on the ground. As the family in the foreground are off-centre they draw you in from the bottom of the photo up to the beautiful scenery.'

The winners were surprised on a sunny afternoon with a copy of their print, a Headteachers WOW and the all-important Squirrel Shop vouchers to spend in store!

As a school, we would like to thank all the staff at the Squirrel Store for their generosity and hope to see all the winners spending their prizes soon.

This competition showed that even though lockdown was difficult at times, there were lots of special moments created either in the comfort of our own homes, gardens or on daily walks in the sun and snow, which we were humbled to have shared with us over Teams.

Please spend some time looking through the galleries to see all the entries through the KS3 Learning Through Enrichment homepage.