Spring scenes of People’s Park caught the judge’s eye in a painting competition for Independent Living students from Calderdale College.

At a prizegiving ceremony this week, Laura Wild, 20, from Brighouse, was chosen as the winning artist for her painting and Matthew Wright, 17, from Halifax, took second place. Each received an art set and a trophy. Laura and Matthew were among twelve Independent Living students invited to take part in the competition by the Cedar Court Hotel in Ainley Top who provided canvases and acrylic paints. The prizegiving was followed by a fun day with swimming and a bouncy castle.

“The paintings are really lovely, vibrant and full of colour”, said competition organiser Ali Jones of Cedar Court. “We’d asked learners to paint scenes of Halifax which mean a lot to them. We thought that Laura’s painting was outstanding and all the paintings will remain on display here. We’re delighted to have them.”

“People’s Park is right next to the college and we go there a lot”, explained Laura, who said that she had never won anything before.

“The students only had a short time to complete the paintings so focused on them exclusively over three days, having taken photos first”, said tutor Hannah Kerwin. “They all found the park quite inspirational and I’m amazed at the quality of the work that they’ve produced.”