2016 schools competition winners

Joe McDonald, from Asda, Union president Barclay Bell and William Thompson, Bank of Ireland

The Ulster Farmers' Union, in partnership with Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend and Asda, are pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 '˜A Year of Food and Farming' schools competition.

The competition kindly sponsored by Asda was open to all nursery, primary and special schools across Northern Ireland.

Pupils were asked to put their creative skills to the test around the theme, ‘A Year of Food and Farming’ with a range of prizes up for grabs. This year, the winning schools will also visit their nearest participating open farm on Friday 17th June to learn more about the ‘farm to fork’ journey.

With over 5000 entries received, this year’s competition was extremely difficult to judge and select the winners. “Tying in with the ‘2016 Year of Food and Drink’, our objective was to engage with the kids and get them thinking about farming and the hard work that goes into producing the first class food they eat,” said UFU president Barclay Bell. “It was evident from the entries received that a considerable amount of time and effort has been put into this year’s competition from both the pupils and teachers and I would like to thank everyone that took part in the competition this year.”

Joe McDonald, Asda NI Corporate Affairs Manager commented: “As a sponsor of Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend and champion of Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector, we were delighted to support the schools’ competition this year.

“It is so important that the next generation understands where their food comes from, as well as the abundance of local food and drink producers we have in Northern Ireland.

“The Year of Food and Farming competition is a great way to encourage school children to learn more about how our food makes its way from farms across Northern Ireland, to the supermarket shelves and onto kitchen tables.”

The winners of the 2016 ‘A Year of Food and Farming’ schools competition is as follows:

Special school- Michael Butler, Longstone Special School

Nursery- Thomas Magee, Ballinamallard Nursery

KS1- Ella McFarland, Cooley Integrated Primary School

KS2- Isabell, Cranmore Primary School

The Runners-up of the 2016 ‘A Year of Food and Farming’ schools competition is as follows:

Special School- Ryan Nelson, Hill Croft School

Nursery – Josie McMullan, Tandragee Nursery

KS1- Conree Muldoon, Spires Integrated Primary School

KS2- Amelie Gonzalez, St Colmcilles Primary School