Monmouth pupils gain recognition in national photography competition

Monmouth pupils gain recognition in national photography competition

10 January 2019

A keen geographer who captured the stunning scene of misty morning in Monmouth has been recognised in a national photography competition.

Lucy Creasey, 16, took the beautiful picture near Lydart on her way to school and was the runner-up in the Geographical Association’s Physical Geography Photograph Competition.

Twelve-year-old Sophie Danks, who hopes to be a forensic scientist or a photographer, also impressed with her entry, finishing third in her section nationally, after picturing a beaver dam in the Forest of Dean.

Lucy and Sophie are pupils at Monmouth School for Girls and were encouraged to enter the competition by Head of Geography, Mr Nick Meek.

The duo will be awarded their prizes at the Geographical Association‘s annual conference in April.

Called Physical Geography in my life, the competition required pupils to take a photograph containing an aspect of physical geography and to support the image with a short description of the physical geography, how it relates to their life and what it means to them.

Lucy said: “We live above the town and, as we drive down the road, we can see the top of a hill peeking through the fog but not the valley underneath.”

The judges, who chose Lucy as the runner-up in the Year 10 to 13 category, commented: “This is a lovely photograph accompanied by a strong engagement with its physical geography as a feature of everyday life and a caption that is worth reading, giving it a well-deserved place in the winning line-up of this year’s competition.”

Sophie was third in the Year 7 to 9 section, said: “A few years ago, my village was badly flooded, and we were evacuated from our house.

“As a solution, they introduced beavers into the surrounding woods. In just a couple of months, the two beavers had built a dam that can hold back the water, stopping it from rushing down the valley as quickly as before.”

The judges commented: “Sophie has made an interesting and thoughtful observation of physical geography – an element that many would walk by and not even think about.”

Mr Meek, said: “We encourage students to take part in school and national competitions because they promote enquiry and challenge them to explore new issues and places.”

Last year, Madeleine Bainbridge was runner-up in the Year 7 to 9 landscape story section for her glacial scene from the top of Sgurr a’ Mhaoraich in the Scottish Highlands and Eden Greaves was highly commended in the same category.

Mr Meek added: “The success we have had in this competition over the past two years is solely down to the hard work and interest from our pupils, and I thank the Geographical Association for creating such an engaging and inspiring competition.”

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