Vedantika Chakraborty, aged six, from Croydon and Sophie Smith, aged 11, from Glasgow have won the regional prizes for our annual school carbon monoxide safety competition.
Organised by the UK’s four gas distribution networks and supported by the Energy Networks Association, the competition calls for budding artists aged five to 11 to help raise awareness of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
We received some fantastic entries in this year’s competition from school children across our Scottish and southern England network area. Entries ranged from videos, posters, cartoons and poems, all designed to warn of the dangers of the silent killer.
Vedantika, who attends Rockmount Primary School in Croydon, trumped the rest of the competition by creating an informative and powerful rap highlighting the dangers and symptoms of CO poisoning, to win both the regional and national award for students aged five to seven.
Sophie attends St Bridget's Primary School in Glasgow and won the regional award for students aged eight to eleven with her colourful poster advising families on how to stay safe from CO.
Sophie's winning poster
This week, both of our winners were presented with a certificate along with their prizes. Being a regional winner, Sophie won £150 for herself and £300 for her school.
Sophie with her award
As Vedantika also won the UK national prize, she was awarded £300 to enjoy herself and £600 for Rockmount Primary School.
Vedantika with her two awards
Our Stakeholder and Community Manager Sharon Dorrington, said: “Along with the other gas network companies, we were impressed by the number of creative entries that were submitted to this year’s competition and we hope that the process involved has helped the students recognise the potential dangers of CO.
“CO has no smell, taste or colour and lives are lost every year because of CO poisoning. It’s through awareness initiatives like this competition that safety messages such as getting gas appliances safety checked every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and the need for an audible CO alarm can reach more people across Great Britain and save lives.”
Keep an eye out on our website and social media channels for details on how your budding young artists can enter next year’s competition and be in with a chance of winning.