THE winner of Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group’s first Christmas card design competition is certainly worth shouting about.

Anna Russell, a final-year graphic design degree student at Swindon College produced the winning designs that are being made into Christmas cards and sold to raise money for the charity.

“It was lovely to have the opportunity to design for Swindon Down’s syndrome Group,” said Anna, who is studying a BA in graphic design as a mature student.

“I’m delighted to have two of my designs selected for the Christmas cards this year,” she said.

The trustees of Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group picked Anna’s designs, 'In the Snow' and 'Christmas Robin at Night', to use on their cards out of four entries from Swindon College students.

Charity trustee Cailey Whitcher said: “Anna’s design really impressed us. She took some traditional themes and added her own artistic twist.

“They’re not the traditional Christmas designs you normally find on cards.

“They’re a bit abstract and quite different from anything we’ve had before.

“She really listened to our brief and came up with something that we think everyone will want to buy."

This is the first year Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group has held a Christmas card design competition and it is hoping to continue it every year in the future.

Cailey added: “We want to involved the community in what we do because we often work in our own little bubble where we support young people with Down’s Syndrome.

“It’s so important to work with our local community and working with the students at Swindon College seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“We also want to raise awareness and this seemed a good way of promoting the cause,” added Cailey.

The charity has already sold 200 packs of cards at £3.50 per pack, and is on its second print run.

All the proceeds from the sale of the cards will go towards the group’s Speech and Language Therapy project which provides weekly sessions to 25 young people.

Cailey added: “For all of us, being able to communicate is a fundamental part of our ability to be part of our communities, workplaces and families.

“Regular speech and language therapy gives our young people the opportunity to develop their speech and comprehension skills, enabling them to go on to achieve far more than might otherwise have been possible for them, and to become a much bigger part of our community."

The Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group is a parent-led volunteer group. Currently run by 10 trustees, it supports more than 100 families in Swindon.

Christmas cards can be purchased by emailing secretary@swindondownsgroup.org.uk