An East Kilbride schoolgirl hopes to draw a line under a ‘gloomy’ 2020 after winning Nicola Sturgeon’s festive card competition.
Sophie Blackett was one of 700 children across Scotland to submit artwork for the First Minister’s official Christmas card this year.
Nicola Sturgeon was on the hunt for a design that “represents kindness” for the 2020 card.
The 10-year-old's design celebrated the hard graft Scots citizens have put in to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus across the country.
Her drawing referenced the weekly Clap for Carers, social distancing and face coverings among a range of other things that have become the ‘new normal’ this year.
Sophie's mum Sarah-Jayne filmed the moment she told her young daughter her design had been chosen on Friday afternoon.
The gobsmacked youngster squealed with delight at the news - before making sure that her mum wasn't kidding her on.
An ecstatic Sophie told the Daily Record : “2020 has been such a gloomy year for everyone, so I wanted to put a positive spin on things rather than focus on the negative.
“I’m so happy that Nicola picked mine and I hope that everyone that receives it enjoys it as well.”
Mum Sarah-Jayne has been bursting with pride since news of her daughter’s victory was shared by the First Minister on social media yesterday.
The news has been a lift to the family, who have been personally impacted by the pandemic in recent months.
One of their close neighbours sadly died after contracting the virus, while Sarah-Jayne and her partner also fell ill with Covid.
“This is such an amazing achievement for Sophie”, said Sarah-Jayne.
“We saw that the First Minister was encouraging local schoolkids to send in their best bits of work for the Christmas card, so we knew there would be big numbers of children taking part.
“It’s just so strange to think that some world leaders will be greeted by Sophie’s artwork in time for Christmas Day.
“I’m just so proud of her.
“She has put down art supplies as something she wants for Christmas this year. I’m sure Santa will be kind to her this year.”
Sharing the news that Sophie had won the competition, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: "Congratulations to Sophie - her wonderful drawing will be on the front of my Christmas card this year.
"The words Sophie has written in the tree sum up the emotions of 2020 really well - and hopefully they’ll inspire everyone as we look forward to brighter times ahead."
