Education, Ringwood | Posted on March 26th, 2025 | return to news
Ringwood hosts inter-school photo competition
The 12th annual Inter-school Photography Competition received more than 900 entries from 25 schools across Hampshire, Dorset, and Wiltshire.
Ringwood School hosted the 12th annual Inter-school Photography Competition on Tuesday 11 March, which received a record number of entries from a record number of schools, with more than 900 entries from 25 schools across Hampshire, Dorset, and Wiltshire.
On the day, there was an exhibition where the photograph entries were presented professionally, followed by an award ceremony in The Barn venue where the winners were announced.
Sponsored by Arts University Bournemouth (AUB), the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), and Ringwood Rotary Club, the competition consisted of three different age categories from Year 1 up to Year 13 with an additional adult category for parents and teachers.
The theme for this year’s competition was ‘layers’, and the overall winning shot of the day was awarded to Billy Dixon-Clarke from Trafalgar School in Wiltshire.
The winners of the three student categories received vouchers for photographic equipment, and the RPS also awarded a certificate to their own choice of best image in each category. The winners from each category were:
Primary
- Winner: Emmeline Hall, St Marks Junior school, Salisbury
- Runner-up: Anais Knight, Forres Sandle Manor school, Hampshire
- RPS certificate: Max Jervis, St Marks Junior school, Salisbury
Years 7–10
- Winner: Billy Dixon-Clarke, Trafalgar school, Wiltshire
- Runner-up: Ruby Davies, Glenmoor and Winton Academy, Dorset
- RPS certificate: Austin Jeffries, Ringwood School, Hampshire
Years 11-13
- Winner: Freddie Serle, Ringwood School, Hampshire
- Runner-up: Amy Evans, Ringwood School, Hampshire
- RPS certificate: Lily Cunningham-Davis, King Edward VI School, Hampshire
Adult
- Winner: Helen Cadle, Upper Shirley High school, Southampton
- Runner-up: Jo Field, Upper Shirley High school, Southampton
- RPS certificate: Rachel Cooper, Ringwood School, Hampshire
Judges included Emily Weston, photography course leader at Ringwood School, Dr Geoff Ridgway and Trevor Pogson from Ringwood Rotary, Dr Barry Senior from the RPS, and Joshua Read, course leader of the Foundation, Art & Design Diploma at AUB.
Stuart Fielder, organiser and head of art at Ringwood School, said: “The competition started 12 years ago when the Ringwood Rotary club sought to work with us to produce a calendar for charity with photographs from the New Forest. This turned into a competition for the students with the winning shots being used for the calendar.
“Over the next couple of years, other schools found out what we were doing and asked to be a part of it, and it’s just grown and grown from there. The Rotary are still very supportive, but we don’t make a calendar any longer and the photos aren’t restricted in terms of subject.
“This year we had 909 entries from 25 schools from Purbeck in the west to beyond Southampton in the east and Salisbury in the north. This is a record number of schools and a record number of entries.
“It’s been a privilege and a real labour of love to watch this competition grow to the size it now is. Photography is the most accessible art form of all, and inclusivity is what my team and I are all about. Our passion has been matched by colleagues from the other 24 participating schools.”
Fielder added: “The exhibition looked fantastic; we hired professional display equipment, the photographs were printed on high-grade A1 and A2 foam boards and the students were thrilled to see their work presented professionally. And I’d like to commend everyone that entered, there were some brilliant pieces there and I know it made for very difficult judging.”
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