St Albans pupil wins big for artistic Mini roof

Maximum kudos has gone to a St Albans pupil for a Mini roof design which is so bright and colourful, it can probably be spotted from several storeys high.

Sam Jarman, a fourth former at St Albans School, Abbey Gateway, impressed judges of a competition held to “design a roof that rocks” for the new Mini Clubman.

Pupils were given complete freedom with their design to encourage artistic expression, albeit via a small car.

Sam, 15, won with his entry entitled ‘Mini madness’ which featured doodle-style artwork.

He told the Herts Advertiser: “It took about two hours to design. I designed it so it looks like it has strange creatures bursting out of the back of the car, and thrown in different directions on the roof.”

When asked about his creative ability Sam, who enjoys studying art and graphics, said it runs in the family as, “mum is very, very good at art, and she used to do ceramic restoration”.

His win meant that his family had the chance to use the colourful car for a weekend, and visit the Mini Plant in Oxford for a private tour.

Jonathan Gillespie, headmaster, said: “Being presented with a brief that required pupils to design an original roof for a new car offered a very different challenge in art and I congratulate Sam and all our prizewinners for creating such original entries.”

The competition was run in partnership with Stephen James, the BMW/Mini centre in Enfield, to produce an eye-catching roof that would show the vehicle’s “fun, sporty spirit”.