Maxwell Starling of Astley Primary School, Tallulah Bason of Beeston Hall Preparatory School and Freddie Betts of Greshams Preparatory School

Stody Lodge Gardens is delighted to announce the three winners of the 2016 Stody Young Talent Awards.

Sarah Caswell, a member of the Society of Botanical Artists and a regular exhibitor at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, judged the finalists. She was very impressed by “the exceptionally high standard” of all the entries and selected the following winners from each of the three age groups:

Freddie Betts of Greshams Preparatory School won the Year 4 category for his beautiful watercolour of two daffodils. Sarah Caswell praised his “astonishing lightness of touch for his age” adding that “yellow is really difficult to paint so well done him.”

In the year 5 category, Maxwell Starling of Astley Primary School was chosen for his delicate depiction of some cherry blossom which so impressed Sarah Caswell that she said “the Society of Botanical Artists will be looking out for his submissions in the future!”

Tallulah Bason of Beeston Hall Preparatory School won the Year 6 category with her stunning geometric kaleidoscope flower. Sarah Caswell praised “her interpretation of the brief and how she combines boldness of colour with finding the patterns in nature.”

Unable to only select three winners, one for each age group, Sarah also awarded Special Mentions to Monty Rolfe from Greshams Preparatory (year 4), Benjamen Whalley from Holt Community Primary School (year 5) and Jenna Morgan-Wickson from Astley Primary School (year 6.)

Celebrated local botanical artist, Sarah Caswell, judges the finalists of the Stody Young Talent Awards 2016

Five North Norfolk primary schools were invited to take part in the Stody Young Talent Awards 2016. Years 4, 5 and 6 at Astley Primary School, Holt Community Primary School, Corpusty Primary School, Beeston Hall Preparatory School and Greshams Preparatory School have in the past two weeks been hard at work creating beautiful depictions of flowers, foliage and garden views in any frameable medium. The 40 finalists were exhibited at the Stody ‘Kids for Kids’ Family Fun Day on Sunday 8th May with hundreds of children enjoying the face painting, petting zoo, goat show and treasure hunt throughout Stody Lodge’s stunning 14-acre rhododendron and azalea gardens.

Kate MacNicol of Stody Lodge Gardens, said: ‘We are delighted that our gardens have has inspired our local primary school children to be so creative. Many of them came to see their works exhibited in the gardens on Sunday at our sell-out Stody ‘Kids for Kids’ Family Fun Day – it was beautiful weather and we were thrilled to raised £1,333 for The Holt Youth Project and £340 for the North Norfolk Radio Kids Trust.”