Local Norfolk girl wins Royal Mail’s stamp competition

Last spring, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Royal Mail Chief Executive, Simon Thompson launched a special stamp design competition. School-aged children across the UK were invited to design a postage stamp featuring their own hero or heroes of the Covid pandemic.

The response was unprecedented. Having received a world record-breaking 606,049 entries, regional judges including retired teachers carefully selected 120 regional finalists. From this, a special panel of judges, including the Prime Minister and Baroness Floella Benjamin, picked 24 regional winners. The final eight winning designs were personally selected by HRH The Prince of Wales, with the finished stamps approved by Her Majesty The Queen.

Entries from across the UK celebrated a wide range of heroes, including: NHS workers; parents; carers; cleaning staff; teachers; supermarket workers; public transport staff and delivery drivers. Also depicted on the designs were many volunteers who have helped in their local communities or raised money for charity, such as Captain Sir Tom Moore.

Simon Thompson, Royal Mail CEO, said: “As we approach the second anniversary of the first lockdown, it’s fitting that the nation’s children have taken the lead in celebrating the heroes of the pandemic. They have captured the resilience and determination of the British people in eight drawings. I think they look great!”

In addition, to mark their success, a special postmark will feature on stamped mail delivered to addresses nationwide. Each child will have their name included on their own congratulatory postmark over the coming weeks.

This is only the fifth time in the company’s 500-year history that children have designed Christmas stamps.

The winners have received £1000 in high-street vouchers and £1000 for their respective schools.

The stamps are available for purchase at www.royalmail.com/heroes and by phone on 03457 641 641.