PUPILS at Frome Valley and Broadmayne schools took up an artistic challenge to encourage people to celebrate the Olympic Torch Relay.

The Olympic flame will be passing through Osmington village on Friday, July 13 at 10.22am and villagers from the surrounding communities are invited to join in the fun.

The Osmington Olympic Torch Relay Group, who are organising the village’s festivities, invited local schools to participate in a poster competition to advertise the torch relay event and attract visitors from far and wide.

Frome Valley and Broadmayne School children took up the challenge and produced more than 100 outstanding entries.

The winners received book tokens and the posters will be appearing in the villages surrounding Osmington from Monday, June 4 and in Crossways Library.

The posters were judged by Laurence Herdman, from the BBC and the landlord of the Sunray pub Steve Mansbridge.

The competition and judging was organised by district councillors Teresa Seall and Peter Stein, both members of the Torch Relay Group.

The winning poster was created by Year four pupil Jennifer from Broadmayne School, who urged people to ‘Sail into the 2012 Olympics, come and see the torch on July 13 in Osmington’ and listed the Olympic and Paralympic values of equality, respect, excellence, courage, friendship, determination and inspiration with the picture of a sailing boat.

A special prize, donated by the Sunray, went to Broadmayne’s Year one pupil Laurence for his multi-media design that detailed the Olympic torch with glitter and had flames of coloured paper erupting out of it.

Councillor Seall said: “The poster competition was absolutely brilliant, we were so impressed with the standard of entries from the children.

“There must have more than 100 entries from the two schools, some of the inspiration from the Olympics and ideas for the posters were brilliant.

“We chose Jennifer as the winner because her poster had the aspiration of sailing and the Olympics and was really colourful, it epitomised what we were looking for.

“They were all very good, it was very difficult to choose and we had to have a second winner with a special prize of book vouchers for Laurence because we were so taken with his 3D design. The Sun Ray pub want to put it up on display.

“All the winners got book vouchers and all the runners up got Olympic-themed chocolate.”

She added: “During the torch relay, we’re having a sports event for school children in Osmington village hall and the folksinger Hedley Kay will be performing in the Sunray pub.

“Everyone is welcome.”