Two pupils from Yorkshire schools; St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Horsforth and Moorlands Primary School in Huddersfield, have won the regional heats for their area as part of the national carbon monoxide safety competition.
Amy Doughty, age 6, from St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy in Horsforth won the Key Stage 1 category with her creative poster calling for people to arm themselves with a carbon monoxide alarm. Meanwhile, Moorlands Primary school pupil Megan Bell, aged 10, was the Key Stage 2 area winner with her poem highlighting the dangers of the silent killer.
GDNs with Tom Bell, Head of Social Strategy at Northern Gas Networks (far right) with Yorkshire winners from left Amy Doughty and Megan Bell.
The awards ceremony, which is now in its tenth year and aims to raise awareness of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and took place at the Palace of Westminster on Thursday 29 June.
The competition was launched in January by the North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN), Cadent, SGN and Wales & West Utilities, the companies which are responsible for running the gas networks across Great Britain.
The competition received entries from nearly 1,000 young people, ranging from videos, posters, websites, and poems warning of the dangers of the deadly gas.
Regional winners were awarded £150 and entered into the national competition, with schools and other supporting organisations receiving an additional £300 in prize money.
The winners and their guests were given a tour of the House of Commons in the Palace of Westminster before the winners received their prizes at a special ceremony hosted by Barry Sheerman, MP, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG), in Portcullis House.
Tom Bell, Head of Social Strategy, Northern Gas Networks, said:
“Since April 2016, Northern Gas Networks has condemned over 1,000 unsafe gas appliances in Yorkshire alone as a result of carbon monoxide related issues.
“This could be avoided if awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide were better known and people took some simple precautions such as getting their gas appliances checked each year by a Gas Safe registered engineer and having a carbon monoxide alarm.”
He added: “I’m delighted that we had so many great entries for this year’s competition and feel really proud of our Yorkshire winners, Amy and Megan. It’s been a fun way to both passed the carbon monoxide safety message onto the younger generation and to highlight awareness among all ages.”
First launched in 2007, the competition was founded and run for many years by charity CO-Gas Safety www.co-gassafety.co.uk in partnership with the GDNs, but this year the GDNs have taken over the running of the competition.
The national carbon monoxide competition is returning later this year, and is open for entries from September 2017. To find out more visit http://www.energynetworks.org/.
The full list of winners can be found below:
Northern Gas Networks
Key Stage 1 Area Winner: Amy Doughty, age 6, St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy, Horsforth
Key Stage 2 Area Winner: Megan Bell, age 10, Moorlands Primary School, Huddersfield
Cadent
Key Stage 1 Area Winner: Connie Hollis, age 7, Marston Green Infant Academy, Birmingham
Key Stage 2 Area Winner: Rae Adey, age 11, Abbey Gates Primary School, Ravenshead
SGN
Key Stage 1 Scotland Area Winner: Katie Hutchinson, age 7, 4th Bathgate Brownies, Bathgate
Key Stage 1 South Area Winner: 5th Kidbrooke Brownies (Foxes), London
Key Stage 2 Scotland Area Winner: Alex Geddes, Lochdonhead Primary School, Isle of Mull
Key Stage 2 South Area Winner: Tona Loving, 3rd Winchester Scouts, Winchester
Wales & West Utilities
Key Stage 1 Wales Area Winner: Marcos Fernandes, Llanedeyrn Primary School, Cardiff
Key Stage 1 West Area Winner: Mia Freeman, Caen Community Primary School, Braunton
Key Stage 2 Wales Area Winner: Year 6 Class, Borras Park Primary School, Wrexham
Key Stage 2 West Area Winner: Elsie-May Dicks, St. Augustine of Canterbury Catholic School, Bristol
KS1 National Winner
Connie Hollis, age 7, Marston Green Infant Academy, Birmingham
KS1 National Winner, Connie Hollis (middle front), from left to right, Rachel Davis (Teacher, Marston Green Infant Academy), Alex Hollis, Clair Hollis, Barry Sheerman MP, Phil Burrows (Stakeholder Implementation Manager, Cadent).
KS2 National Winner
Year 6 Class, Borras Park Primary School, Wrexham
KS2 National Winner representatives, (front, left to right) Noah Brown, Lucy Still, Erin Small (back, left to right), Lee Jefferies (Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Wales & West Utilities), Mrs Joanne Strudwick (School Governor), Mr David Roberts (Teacher, Borras Park Primary School), Barry Sheerman MP.
Anyone that smells gas or suspects Carbon Monoxide should call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. This line is in operation 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.