Stamp of success for three Derbyshire schoolchildren who help Royal Mail secure Guinness Book of Records title and praise from Boris Johnson

Designs by Maddie Bonsey, Zander Furness and Chenyang Wai, clockwise from right, are among 120 out of 606,049 which could be chosen to become an official Royal Mail stamp.

Maddie Bonsey, 13, of Netherthorpe School, Staveley, Chengyang Wei, 10, of Duffield Meadows Primary School, Belper, and Zander Furness, 13, of Heanor Gate Science College, Heanor, will find out in November if their entries, inspired by the heroes of the coronavirus pandemic, will go through to the next stage.

The county’s creative trio has triumphed among 606,049 entries from 7,479 schools, helping Royal Mail secure the Guinness World Records title for the largest postage stamp design competition.

Designs from the 120 regional finalists will be considered by a panel of judges who will whittle them down to 24. A final eight entries will then be chosen to become official stamps which will appear in spring 2022.

Each of the regional finalists will receive £100 in gift vouchers and £100 for their school.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “It is of great credit to the children of this country that in world record breaking numbers they picked up their paintbrushes, pens and paints and paid artistic tribute to the heroes of our coronavirus response.

“Their brilliant efforts represent the collective gratitude of the nation to everyone who went above and beyond during the pandemic.

“Congratulations to all those who have made it to the next round and thank you to everyone who has taken part and to the teams at Royal Mail for managing this record number of entries.”

Simon Thomson, chief executive officer of Royal Mail, said: “We would like to thank all of the 606,049 children who submitted such brilliant designs to the competition. We have been amazed and impressed by the sheer volume of entries. And to have achieved a Guinness World Records title in the process shows how much the UK’s children value those heroes who have kept the nation moving during such a difficult period.”

The competition was open to UK schoolchildren to mark the important role played by key and frontline workers, as well as others, during the pandemic. Children were asked to think about who their hero or heroes were, and to design a stamp in their honour.

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