‘Get Set to make your mascot' was an initiative run through the London 2012 Education Programme ‘Get Set' and invited children and young people in schools and colleges to design a version of the Olympic mascot Wenlock and/or the Paralympic mascot Mandeville that they thought represented the place in which they live or go to school – their community or region.

There were more than 2,500 entries into the competition and Aiden's design was shortlisted from the South West region. He was then invited to attend the national final in London. At the final the budding designer had to showcase his presentation skills as he pitched his design to a judging panel which included Jonathan Edwards, Paralympic wheelchair basketball player Ade Adepitan and London 2012 Head of Education, Nick Fuller.

After Aiden was announced as the winner from South West England, he was given the opportunity to travel to London where he spent the day with a top London design agency, developing his design into a 3D animated mascot graphic.

View the winning d esigns here.

Aiden said: ‘I chose this design because in Devon we are very close to the sea. I made this design to look like a beach because I love going to the beach and taking advantage of the opportunities because some parts of England don't have beaches near them!

‘For the bands around the mascot's arms I coloured them in black, blue, yellow, green and red which are the colours of the Olympic rings.'

 

LOCOG Chair, Seb Coe said: ‘I'm delighted that Aiden's designs, which reflect what his area means to him has been made into official London 2012 pin badges. This competition not only encouraged school children to think about what their community or region means to them but it also showed how young people across the UK can get involved and play their part in London 2012. I hope the competition has inspired and helped develop the designers of the future.'

The design has also been made into an official version of Wenlock.

Pin badges can be bought in London 2012 shops and John Lewis stores.

Get Set is the official London 2012 education programme for schools and colleges across the UK. More than 20,500 schools have already registered with the programme. It provides students and teachers with access to free resources including films, activity and fact sheets to support young people to explore the Olympic and Paralympic Values and play their part in the London 2012 Games. .

Over 9,000 have gone one step further to join the Get Set network reward and recognition scheme by demonstrating their commitment to living the Olympic and Paralympic Values.

Schools that join the ‘Get Set network' reward and recognition scheme before Friday 16th December 2011 will also secure an allocation of tickets to the Games  for students aged 10-18 at no cost through the London 2012 Ticketshare initiative, as well as other exclusive rewards and opportunities.

Notes to editors: 

For further information please contact the London 2012 Press Office on

+44 (0)203 2012 100 or visit the website at www.london2012.com. Find out the latest from London 2012 HQ on our blog http://www.london2012.com/blog or follow us on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/london2012

 

London 2012 Games partners:
The Worldwide Olympic Partners who support the London 2012 Olympic Games and the National Olympic Committees around the world are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow Chemical Company, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters – Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers – Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsburys and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock.