Stamford and Rutland pupils perform well in Rotary Club art, cooking and writing competitions

A young chef achieved third place in a regional Rotary Club final.

Rory Cullen, a Year 9 pupil at Stamford School, competed in the regional finals of the Rotary Young Chef competition, having finished first in the Rotary Club of Stamford’s contest.

The regional final was held at the Cambridge Community College where there were eight competitors.

Rory’s menu, which saw him finish a creditable third, was red pepper, butternut squash and harissa soup, followed by a main course of mixed fisherman’s pie with a pudding of chocolate molten cake.

Also in the Rotary series of Youth Competitions, two pupils from Stamford High School entered the Young Artist competition with the topic ‘the colours of nature’.

Anna Smith won the local competition and repeated her success in the Rotary Regional competition Senior Class, earning her a place at the national finals due to be held later this month.

Anna wanted to show the human impact that endangers nature, so chose to create a colourful reef with half of it bleached and made of waste materials and face masks.

“I feel this was an important statement to make and I am proud of my outcome,” said Anna.

In the Intermediate Class, Olivia Scott was runner up with her portrayal of butterflies.

The Rotary Club of Rutland was also delighted with the success of its recent Young Writer Competition with more than 100 entries on the topic of ‘the environment’.

The winners of the Rutland competition were:

• Senior: Tomek Clarke (Catmose College)

• Intermediate: Charlie Frieland (Catmose College)

• Junior: Eva Taranets (Brooke Hill Academy)

All three were passed to the next stage in the competition organised by Rotary District 1070. There was further success for Tomek Clarke who won the district competition and goes forward to the national finals.

Rutland organiser, Rotarian Richard Bird said: “We were delighted by the response this year. We knew it would be difficult for everyone and thank you to all those who entered youngsters for the competition.

“Rotary’s aim is to support and recognise the work schools are doing with youngsters beyond the basics of literacy to explore the world and develop empathy.”