Local students’ artwork chosen for charity thank you cards

Tuesday, 8 July 2025 10:26

By David Murphy / Catherine Smyth

Art teacher Mrs Walsh with the students holding their own card Mahnoor Fatima, and Alfie Howard, Anastassia Matel and Lucia Clarke with Steve Gough from The Lighthouse Foodshare.

High school pupils help spread seasonal cheer through foodshare initiative

Four Whitworth Community High School students have had their artwork turned into thank you cards for a Whitworth based food charity supporting families across the country.

The Lighthouse Community Foodshare, co-founded in 2020 by Steve Gough, teamed up with art teacher Mrs Walsh to run a creative competition for pupils from Years 7 to 9. The brief was to produce an image featuring a lighthouse and seasonal elements from spring and summer. More than 200 students entered, with four designs chosen to be printed and distributed nationwide.

The winning artists were 12 year olds Anastassia Matel, Mahnoor Fatima and Lucia Clarke, along with 14 year old Alfie Howard. Steve Gough visited the school to present the finished cards and speak to the pupils about the charity’s mission.

The Lighthouse supports more than 300 people, offering not only food but also essentials such as school uniforms and household items. All services are delivered by volunteers. Gough told the students: “Everything is done by volunteers and without their support we wouldn’t be able to operate. These cards are our way of saying thank you to those who make the work possible.”

He also explained that the cards would be sent far beyond Whitworth, with supporters across the UK. “We set up within three weeks and were already helping hundreds of people,” he said.

Each of the chosen designs captured the spirit of the competition in different ways. Anastassia's featured a sea of flowers surrounding a lighthouse, while Lucia’s pastel creation was praised by Steve as gallery-worthy. Mahnoor, a member of the school's art club, also has a triptych displayed in the headteacher’s office and hopes to pursue a career in art. Alfie, who said he was surprised to win, admitted he’s “not really into art” but was glad he gave it a go.

Mrs Walsh said selecting the winners was no easy task. “We had around 200 entries and came up with a shortlist of seven. I think they have done a beautiful job,” she said.