Student Comes Top of The Class at Chester Art Exhibition

Sixth Form student Jessica Martin-Jones has won the overall Senior Art in Education Award for her portrait paintings at the Chester Art Exhibition. Jessica, 17, painted figurative art and was highly commended for her portrait paintings. Judges commented on the 'clarity and maturity' of her work.

The Senior Art in Education Award allows under-18s to submit their art work which has been produced during their A-level studies. This year's competition saw entrants from Kings School Chester, The Queens School, Abbeygate College and The Grange.

Jessica said "I am proud to have been picked to exhibit there twice in a row now, and I never thought I would actually win the overall award. I've always struggled with the idea of actually liking any of my paintings which is why it came as a complete shock".

"I hope this year's portfolio can build on this platform further and hopefully lead to me entering more exhibitions".

The Chester Art Exhibition is Cheshire's premier arts event, held every year at Chester Racecourse. It is one of the few exhibitions around today which exhibits current art from living artists as well as well-known artists from over the last century.

Head of Art at Ellesmere, Siobhan Philips said "This is an amazing achievement for Jessica and the quality of her work just keeps on getting better and better. The exhibition has a range of exceptional works by students from other schools and to see Jessica be rewarded with first place is a wonderful achievement".