Crafty Aylesbury Vale schoolchildren reach finals of Coronation crown competition

Schools in Aylesbury, Buckingham, Haddenham and Great Missenden were among the finalists in a Bucks-wide competition to celebrate the King’s coronation.

Schoolchildren from across the county took part in the grand finale of Bucks Council’s Coronation Crown making competition on Thursday, May 4.

After fierce competition 15 finalists competed in the final, held at The Gateway council offices in Aylesbury, creating coronation crowns which were judged by a panel that included TV personality Lorraine Kelly, who is a Buckinghamshire Swan Envoy, the Lord-Lieutenant of Bucks Countess Howe, chairman of Bucks Council Dev Dhillon, chief executive Rachael Shimmin, deputy cabinet member for education and skills Joseph Baum and Adam Teeuw, director of physical production at Lucasfilm.

The judging criteria were: Wearability, Does the crown look Royal?, Why is the crown fit for a king? and What skills have been demonstrated?

The competition was extremely close, but the ‘jewels in the crown’ were Lent Rise School, Burnham (first prize for a primary school) and Heritage House School, Chesham (first prize for a secondary school).

In the primary schools category, second place went to Hamilton Academy, High Wycombe, and third place to Woodside Junior School, Amersham. In the secondary school category, second place went to Amersham School, Amersham.

The designers of the winning crowns each received £150, a goody bag from Lucasfilm and a tour around Pinewood Studios, second place received £100 and a goody bag from Lucasfilm and third place received £75 and a goody bag from Lucasfilm. All the finalists receive £20 each.

The winning crowns will now go on a tour of Bucks libraries with the coronation banners.

Full list of finalists

1st place primary – Lent Rise School, Burnham

2nd place primary – Hamilton Academy, High Wycombe

3rd place primary – Woodside School, Amersham

1st place secondary – Heritage House School, Chesham

2nd place secondary – Amersham School, Amersham

Runners up

Buckingham Park Church of England Primary School, Aylesbury

Chalfont St Peter Infant School, Chalfont St Peter

Holtspur School, Holtspur, Beaconsfield

Hughenden Primary School, Hughenden Valley

Loudwater Combined School, High Wycombe

Thomas Harding Junior School, Chesham

Buckingham Primary School, Buckingham

Burford School, Marlow

Haddenham Junior School, Haddenham

High Wycombe Church of England Combined School, High Wycombe

Lee Common Church of England School, Great Missenden