RESIDENTS at an Ilkley care home are appealing for local school children to design artwork for their recently refurbished dining room.

Straven House Bupa Care Home on Queens Road has teamed up with Ilkley Arts Trail to run a competition for local school children to design pictures or paintings to complement the room’s new decoration after residents decided the existing paintings needed updating.

Andrea Pearson, home manager at Straven House said: “Instead of just buying new ones, we thought it would be lovely to have some original works of art created by local school children.

"We have great relationships with our local community and think the competition is a great opportunity to build on these.

“The competition is open to all local schools and it’s entirely up to them what they choose to paint or draw. We will welcome all entries and look forward to seeing some really exciting creations.”

The entries will be judged by the residents who will choose a short list to go on to be judged by a member of Ilkley Arts Trail.

Sarah Thomas, chair of Ilkley Arts Trail, said “We’re delighted to support this project. Not only does it offer an excellent focus for youngsters to be creative and develop their artistic skills but it also provides an opportunity for the residents of Straven House to choose the art work that will decorate the walls of their home. We look forward to seeing the results."

When the winning entries have been chosen and framed, a celebration tea for residents and the competition winners will be held in the dining room.

For further information or to register to take part in the competition, call 01943 607 063 or email andrea.pearson@bupa.com or iwona.ostrowska@bupa.com.