Enter Royal Mail’s Christmas stamp design competition

Yes, we know it's way too early to start thinking about Christmas, but how fabulous would it be to see your child or pupil's design on one of the Royal Mail's Christmas stamps?

Royal Mail is running an amazing national art competition for primary school pupils to design stamps for Christmas 2013.

Two lucky winners will see their designs on one of the 1st or one of the 2nd Class Christmas stamps from this year’s range.

Only twice before has Royal Mail run a competition like this – in 1966 and 1981 – so this is the first opportunity for more than 30 years for school pupils to design an official Royal Mail Christmas stamp.

The competition theme is ‘what does the Christmas season mean to you?’ and so the children can design an image that best describes what the festive holiday period means to them.

This is a prize that money cannot buy, and will be a huge honour for the winners and their schools. The winning designs will be approved by Her Majesty the Queen, and used on millions of Christmas cards during the festive season.

It is also a fun and engaging art lesson activity for children aged 4 to 11 years, and great prizes must be won too!

Top prize will be £1,000 prizes for the two overall winners and their schools, while 22 area winners will receive £500 and a matching value of vouchers for their schools and 96 area runners-up will receive £100 for the entrants and £100 vouchers for their schools.

Prizes will be awarded to both the shortlisted pupils and their schools in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and in each of the nine regions across England. In total there are 60 prizes for both the 4 - 7 and 8 - 11 years age categories.

Overall winners will receive £1,000 in vouchers for their family, and £1,000 will be awarded to their school. Area winners and schools will each receive £500, and £100 will be awarded to both area runners up and their schools. Winners will be announced by the end of October.

All children in the UK aged 4 - 11 years (except from the Isle of Man and Channel Islands) can take part (and we will also accept entries from children aged 12 years who are in the final year of primary school).

Hurry, all competition entries must be received by 19 July 2013

Click here for further information including full terms and conditions.