03 April 2021
|
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Royal Mail today announced the launch of a stamp design competition for UK schoolchildren to mark the important role played by key and frontline workers, as well as others, during the pandemic.
The competition will give children, aged 4 to 14, the chance to design an official Royal Mail stamp as part of a special set of eight. Children will be asked to think about who their hero or heroes are, and to design a stamp in their honour.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“The last year has been one of the most difficult any of us can remember, but throughout it all our Covid Heroes have been there for us, inspired us and done so much for others.
“From our family members, teachers, doctors and nurses to our vaccine scientists and fundraisers, we want to recognise and remember them.
“That’s why we’re launching a special competition with Royal Mail for children across the country to design a new stamp collection featuring their Covid Heroes – so we can honour their tremendous work.”
SIGN UP TO THE FREE NEWSLETTER TODAY and we'll send you news, views and stamp guides direct to your inbox. It's completely free and a great way to keep up to date with the very latest new stamps and enter our latest competitions.
Children may choose to illustrate a range of subjects, with suggestions including:
- frontline workers who work in health or social care
- key workers who have helped keep the UK connected
- Volunteers who have helped in their local communities or raised money for charity, such as Captain Sir Tom Moore, who was subject of a recent 'A Stamp for Captain Tom' campaign
GB stamps designed by young people
Only four times in the company’s 500-year history have children designed official Royal Mail stamps – in 1966 and 1981, 2013 and 2017.
As with all Special Stamps issued by Royal Mail, the final eight stamps will be sent to Her Majesty The Queen before they can be printed and issued.
How the stamp competition works
The competition is open to children aged 4-14 through school entries or independently via parents and home educators. Childminders, volunteer leaders, carers and clubs can also enter children into the competition.
Schools, and parents/guardians of home-schooled children, can sign-up to the competition online or by returning the application form in a pack sent to them by iChild, the online educational resource centre, in association with Royal Mail.
- Applications for the 6,000 available resource packs will be sent out on a first-come, first served basis. Entries must be received by the closing date of Friday 28 May 2021.
- The winners of the competition will be announced in the autumn and the stamps will be available in the spring of 2022.
- Royal Mail will select 120 regional runners-up across the UK. They, and their schools, will each receive prizes of £100 for the school and £100 gift vouchers for the child.
- From those 120 runners-up, a shortlist of 24 finalists will be chosen. They and their schools will receive prizes of £500 for the school and £500 of gift vouchers for the child.
- From the finalists eight winners will be chosen. They will also receive prizes of £1,000 for the school and £1,000 in vouchers for the child.
Full details can be found at www.royalmail.com/stampcompetition