King’s Ely wins national photography competition for fourth year running

A King's Ely student has been crowned the winner of the 2021 ILFORD PHOTO UK Student Photography Competition, meaning the school has now won the contest for four years running.

More than 200 photography students from schools across Britain submitted entries for this year’s competition, and it was an image taken by Year 12 student, Lucas Edevane, that was chosen by an independent panel of judges as the winner.

Seven King’s Ely Senior students made the finals of the contest this year – Lucas, Emily Gredley, Francesca Stevens, Ivana Peat (two images shortlisted), PiaoPiao Li, Dominic Illsley and George Diogenous. Emily, who is also in Year 12, was placed third in the competition.

A statement on the ILFORD website reads: “As always, the challenge of picking a winner was not easy but we are pleased to announce that the winner, and recipient of the title of ‘ILFORD PHOTO UK Student Photographer of the Year 2020/21’, has been awarded to Lucas Edevane from King’s Ely School in Cambridgeshire.

“Lucas’ image was captured on ILFORD FP4 Plus and superbly printed on ILFORD MULTIGRADE RC Deluxe paper. Lucas has helped to extend King’s Ely and Tutor, Antonio Longo’s winning streak to four years, once again demonstrating King’s Ely’s ongoing commitment and passion to analogue photography and a consistently high standard of learning.

“We would like to thank all the students, tutors, schools and colleges for taking part and helping to maintaining such a high standard of photographic education.”

The theme of this year’s competition was ‘Darkness and Light’. Lucas now stands a chance of winning the international competition. For his success in the UK contest, he has won £150 worth of photography products. Emily has received a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate. King’s Ely’s shortlisted students have also been invited to visit ILFORD’s site to see how the film and papers are made.

Last year, Paige Newell won the competition, in 2019 Luna Guo won and in 2018 it was won by Orla Simpson.

The Arts offering at King’s Ely is enviable. Music, Drama, Dance, Fine Art, Textiles, Sculpture and Photography are each embedded in the culture of the school, with vast opportunities for pupils of all aspirations, including scholarships awarded to 13 and 16 year-olds which may be means-tested to allow talented students from lower-income households to benefit. To discover more about opportunities at King’s Ely, please visit: www.kingsely.org