Mascot makers going for gold

WE did this . . .Year 6 pupils show off their finished mascot

TALENTED school pupils have their sights set firmly on Olympic glory after making it through to the national finals of a mascot design competition.

Coppice Primary School, in Burlington Avenue, designed a special version of the official Olympic mascot Wenlock to represent the diverse nature of the North-West.

Now pupils have reached the hotly contested national final of the contest for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

As one of two finalists for the North-West and 22 finalists from across the country, the school will attend the national final in London on Wednesday.

Pupils involved in the design of the winning mascot will present their project to a panel of judges.

The jolly-looking mascot combines seven elements to represent Oldham.

These are an umbrella to reflect the Oldham weather, a miner’s lamp because the school is built on an old mine, religious symbols to represent the borough’s diverse cultural heritage, wellies because of the surrounding countryside, a cotton mill chimney to reflect the fact that Oldham once had the most cotton mills in England and a big drum because of the Saddleworth brass band festival.