Ascot Heath Tunnel receives special revamp from 500 local school pupils

Last month Ascot called on the artistic skills of local schoolchildren to improve the existing Ascot Heath Tunnel environment. This community project was organised to provide a colourful walkway for both Royal Ascot visitors and others who use the tunnel on a regular basis.

The process started in January 2018, when local Ascot schools were invited to enter the “Celebration of Royal Ascot” competition.

Pupils aged four to 11 years from eight local schools submitted their artwork, which had to incorporate the Celebration theme. Cash prizes of £1,000 for the school, plus Amazon vouchers for the pupils were up for grabs.

On a sunny Saturday in May, the category winners were announced as: Charan Bains from Holy Trinity School; Zara Hames from St Francis Catholic School and Albany Barralet from LVS Junior School – all of whom were interviewed on ITV 4 by Oli Bell.

Ascot received over 500 entries from eight schools and all the entries were judged by Ascot Racecourse staff, together with Flat jockey Ryan Moore, who picked his favourite. The artwork is currently being prepared and will be erected and displayed prior to Royal Ascot later this month.

Mrs Johnson, Head of School at St Francis said: “We were delighted to be involved with the Ascot Racecourse Art Competition and thought it was a brilliant initiative for our school to take part in. The racecourse is such a feature in Ascot, it is wonderful that that they are working hard to develop a close working relationship with the local schools and community.

“Receiving such a generous prize of £1,000 for the school, too, makes such a difference to us – we will certainly put this to good use. Our children and their families enjoyed a very special and memorable day. We are really looking forward to seeing the artwork on display in the tunnel during Royal Ascot Week and I am sure there will be lots of visitors from our school who will come along to view it!”

The artwork will be erected on 14th June 2018. Schools will be invited to come and view, together with local press.