All Wolverhampton schools which put a focus on Fairtrade in their curriculum were invited to enter the annual competition, organised by Ann Bickley and the Wolverhampton Fairtrade Partnership and sponsored by The Rotary of Wolverhampton and Mid-counties Co-op.
Pupils were asked to design posters highlighting the theme for this year's Fairtrade Fortnight, 'Living Income and Cocoa'. Children from seven primary schools from across the city submitted entries with a total of 14 winners and runners-up selected by judges. The posters will go on display in a Co-operative store in the city at a later date.
The winning entries came from Adrianna Sohal from Graiseley Primary, Ceci Edwards from St Teresa's Catholic Primary Academy, Kourtney Maliza Basra from Stowheath Primary, Freya Murton and Megan White from Uplands Primary, Denaya Anderson from St Paul's CofE Primary and Jemima Hodson from Christ Church CofE Junior schools.
Runners up were Simran Kaur and Harkirat Kaur of Graiseley Primary, Maya Zhakata and Sahil Gill of St Teresa's Catholic Primary Academy, Nathan Kwarteng and Zoe Cromer of Stowheath Primary and Teraina Brooker of Bilston Primary schools.
They received a selection of prizes including book tokens, Fairtrade Easter eggs and goody bags for their schools from the Mayor of Wolverhampton Councillor Phil Page.
He said: "This year's Fairtrade Fortnight highlighted a very important issue. Chocolate is one of our favourite treats but the cocoa industry is under severe pressure from climate change and the exploitation of farmers, who are underpaid and do not have enough for food, education and housing.
“Fairtrade is working to redress the balance and the children are helping to make people aware of this issue with their great posters."
Barbara Gwinnett, Chair of Wolverhampton City Fairtrade Partnership, said: "We received some excellent entries for this year's competition and we had a hard time picking the winners and the runners up. I'd like to congratulate everyone who took part and thank them for helping to raise awareness of Fairtrade in Wolverhampton."
The competition was one of the highlights of this year's Fairtrade Fortnight activities in Wolverhampton, which also included the annual Fairtrade faith service for school pupils.
