SIX students from the Fairford and Lechlade area were celebrating after hearing that they had been successful in The Cotswold Challenge.

The challenge was launched in April to give hope and inspiration to teenagers in the Cotswolds who were no longer able to take their GCSEs or A-Levels due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

The challenge, which received nearly 500 entries across three categories: Art & Design, Creative Writing and Innovation & Entrepreneurial Thinking (I&E), saw entries from talented students at Farmor’s School especially in the I&E category.

Issy Spurway took third place in this category with her Kloves idea of a recycling and re-manufacturing clothing business.

Celebrity judge, Adam Henson, said: “Love the brand name, the thought process and brand values behind the initiative.”

Louis Jones gained a joint 5th and Highly Commended place with his service-based app idea called Ready Guest.

Adam Henson said of Louis’ entry: “The idea of having some help to get jobs done with the click of an app is a brilliant one.”

Lottie Jacques’ green energy idea about using horse muck to generate electricity received a Commended certificate.

In the Art & Design category, Tom Mundy, who attends Stroud College but lives in Fairford, was commended for his work of a lockdown painting of him and his twin sister complete with freshly dyed purple hair!

Stella Dalgleish from Lechlade but is a student at Farmor’s School, was commended for her work entitled And Man Will Wander.

In the Creative Writing category, Sophia Aira was commended for her poem about The Thursday Night Clap.

To see a full list of all the winners, the judges and their comments, visit www.thecotswoldchallenge.com.

MANY pubs and restaurants will be re-opening after the Covid-19 lockdown.

One of these will be The Bull Hotel in the centre of Fairford.

New managers of the hotel, Jacqui and Adrian Bartels, can see light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel and are preparing a grand opening of the town centre hotel for meals and drinks on Saturday, July 4.

Jacqui said: “We want our customers to feel safe being here and we will be doing everything necessary to help them enjoy their experience safely.”

Adrian, who is an award-winning chef, has created a new menu comprising a reasonably-priced steak menu including the classic French Chateaubriand for two people; a grill menu with Adrian’s own version of a Big Mac; and, for lunchtime, an assortment of delicious sandwiches.

Having previously run The Bear Hotel in Devizes, the couple are no newcomers to the hospitality trade and are proud of their ethos of putting families and the community first.

Jacqui and Adrian’s own grown up family: Luke (25), Katie (23) and Jody (21) help them in the business and the whole family are getting excited at being able to welcome the community back to the historic hotel. To pre-book, call 01285 712535.

THERE have been no hard copies of the free community magazine, Ripples, since March, but now the July issue is being delivered in Fairford, Lechlade and surrounding villages and is also available to read online: www.ripplesmag.co.uk.

The Revd Caroline Symcox, the Vicar of St Mary’s Fairford wrote a welcome back piece for the July issue stating: “This has been the strangest year certainly in my lifetime… In having our lives so shaken up, in being forced to ask who we are, we have found good things too. We have been reminded of what is important.

"My hope, my prayer, is that we can carry that forward into whatever may come.”