The focus was on talent, when the winners of this year’s West Norfolk Academies Trust Photographic Competition were announced at a ceremony attended by finalists and their friends and families.

The final took place at Springwood High School, and featured the work of pupils and staff from across the Trust’s secondary and primary schools, along with those from the Windmill Primary Federation.

Besides host Springwood, the WNAT high schools taking part were Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, and Smithdon in Hunstanton, while participating Trust primaries included Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

They were joined for the first time for this year’s event by the Windmill Primary Federation schools: Terrington St John, Tilney St Lawrence, Walpole Highway, and West Walton.

Emma Pearman is our Confidential Trust Administrator and helped organise the competition, which was held in conjunction with the King’s Lynn and District Camera Club (KLDCC).

“The final was very well attended, with around 100 finalists, along with their families,” she said.

“There was an ‘open’ theme this year, covering any subject the student or staff members thought would make an interesting picture.

“There were 260 images submitted this year. This compares to 147 images last year. This is due to its increased popularity, and also with the fact that the four Windmill Federation primary schools were invited to take part this year.”

Prizes were awarded across a range of five categories, with ten finalists shortlisted for each. Category winners were each awarded a £20 Amazon voucher, while every finalist received a mounted print of their image.

The Key Stage 2 winner was Florence from Walpole Cross Keys Primary for ‘Long Walk Down the Mountain’; while the Key Stage 3 winner was Sidney from Springwood High School for ‘Crescent Moon’; the Key Stage 4 category was won by fellow Springwood student Lara for ‘Misty Morning at the Stables’; and the staff winner was Lee Sedgley, also from Springwood, for ‘Snowdrop’.

Key Stage 5 category winner Isobel, another Springwood talent, was also announced as overall competition winner, receiving the David Ashfield Cup for her composition ‘Fish Eyes’.

The competition was taking place for the third year running, with Alan Livingston from the KLDCC on hand to judge the entries.

Our CEO, Andy Johnson, added: “The Trust places huge importance on extra-curricular activity for all of our students, alongside excellent relationships with our community, including the KLDCC.”