Climate-conscious schoolgirl wins new shoes for her entire class at Milton Keynes primary school

Sophia Sharif from Stanton School in Bradville saw off stiff competition to be named top of the class with her creative and environmentally thoughtful work.The competition brief, set by family footwear retailer Charles Clinkard, was for youngsters to use their imagination to come up with shoes fit for a superhero of their own making, with special features to enhance their wearer’s special powers.

Sophia's design was for a superhero who is intent on saving the planet and eradicating plastic waste.Her special features included a system of levers which would hook plastic out of the sea and recycle it, together with a first aid pack which could be used to help sea creatures. Managing director Charles Clinkard, said: “We have been blown away by the standard of the entries, which showed outstanding levels of imagination and artistic talent. It was a hard decision to choose a winner, but Sophia’s design was inventive and colourful and perfectly reflected the attributes of a superhero.”Sophia said: “Everybody should do their bit to help save the planet for future generations. I wanted to highlight that more needs to be done and to encourage people to think about what they can do such as recycling, reducing waste, and finding alternatives to single use plastics.“My aim was to design a pair of shoes to help people become eco-superheroes in the fight against climate change.”Helen Nicholson, executive headteacher at Stanton School, said: “Art and creativity and environmental issues are important to pupils and teachers at our school and we’re so pleased that Sophia’s hard work and artistic talent has won such a fantastic prize from Charles Clinkard for her and her classmates.”Sophia and her 28 fellow pupils were invited along to Charles Clinkard’s store at Midsummer Boulevard Central Milton Keynes, where each child could choose a pair of shoes.