SCHOOLCHILDREN across Castle Point are being encouraged to put pen to paper to design their own Christmas card.

Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris wants primary school children across Castle Point to enter her annual Christmas Card Competition.

The Hadleigh Art Trail is also getting involved with the competition this year and is providing a venue where the finalists’ work will be displayed at Hadleigh Old Fire Station.

Finalists for each school in the area will be chosen and displayed during the Art Trail week, which runs from Friday, October 3 to Saturday, October 11, where visitors will have the chance to see the children’s work and vote on which one they like the best.

There will be a presentation to give out prizes to the winner and the runners-up at Hadleigh Old Fire Station after the event is over, with the winner’s design being featured on Mrs Harris’s Christmas card.

The competition closes on Monday September 22. The designs can be either landscape or portrait and can use any media – paint, collages, or photography.

The only requirement is that it must be on A4 paper or card. Schools can post entries to Rebecca Harris MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.