A nine-year-old girl from Twickenham has won a competition to design the Kingston and Richmond Safeguarding Children Partnership's new logo.

Gemma Bruce of Newland House school in Twickenham was selected as the winning designer, announced at a special reception in the Mayor’s Parlour at Kingston Council earlier this week (June 4).

The event was timed to coincide with Child Safety Week, which runs from June 3-June 9.

Over 100 designs drawn by children aged 7-18 were received for the competition, which were then evaluated by a panel of judges, including two graphic design professionals from Grand Central Creative and a freelance designer, Jeff Witek.

The submissions were then whittled down to a final six, with Gemma's striking design being chosen as the overall winner.

Her winning logo features two people on either side of a heart, representing the adults of Kingston and Richmond, protecting the children who are represented by the heart in the centre.

Councillor Nancy Baldwin, Mayor of Richmond, presented the winning artist with her award.

She praised the entrants for their submissions and said it highlighted the importance of the work the Partnership does.

"What a talented group of young artists we have in Richmond and Kingston! All children have a right to grow up safe from harm. Asking children and young people to design the logo for an organisation that represents them, only further emphasises its importance," the mayor said.

Meanwhile Kingston's Mayor, Councillor Margaret Thompson, was also at the awards ceremony and paid tribute to all the young artists who had submitted work.

"A big thank you to everyone that took part. I am so pleased I didn't have to decide the winners on my own, as all the entries were so good.

"You are all winners and Kingston Council, your parents, carers and schools should be very proud of you. It has been a real pleasure hosting you all in the Mayor's parlour," she said.

Chris Robson, Chairman of Richmond and Kingston Local Safeguarding Children Board, said:

"Thank you to all the young people who took the time to design our logo. It was a tough decision. One of our priorities is to engage with young people give them some ownership of the new organisation that is concerned with their safeguarding..."

Phil Scotcher, one of the professional judges from Grand Central Creative, echoed Mr Robson's words, highlighting the high level of art attained by the child entrants in the competition.

“It was a very hard decision. All of the submissions had merits and each showed a great depth of talent and understanding. We chose Gemma’s because it highlights the need for partnership, being caring and reaching out.

"Technically the heart symbol made from the negative space is very clever. This will give the organisation a very smart identity to work with going forward," he said.