Anya’s Apprenticeship Bus design gets the green light

A special bus, which will tour Portsmouth to promote the power of apprenticeships early next year, will have the pride of City of Portsmouth College upon it.

Art student Anya Velez, 18, had her bus wrap design chosen for a competition run for COPC Level 2 art and design students, in conjunction with Portsmouth Creates. She found out she was the winner live on Express FM and will be there to see her idea – which celebrates the diversity of the city – brought to life when the bus, the result of a collaboration between Portsmouth Creates, MountJoy and Shaping Portsmouth, is unveiled in early February.

“I’m so surprised and happy!” she said. “I do have a little bit of experience in doing commissions, but this has given me so much confidence. I’m feeling so inspired.”

Three runners-up were Blessed Pedzemi, 17, whose design was heavily influenced by his own artistic style, aspiring fashion designer Lee Davis, 20, who drew inspiration from artist Jim Dine, and Ami Clements, 17, who chose the Portsmouth coast as the basis for her design.

All the finalists will receive specialist mentoring by experts at Portsmouth Creates, giving them a huge boost towards their respective dream careers.

COPC Principal and CEO Katy Quinn presented certificates to Anya, the runners up and all the COPC entrants to acknowledge their hard work and creativity throughout the project.

“Well done to all the students who took part,” she said. “They all produced brilliant pieces of work in what was a brilliant project to be involved in. I know when I see that bus travelling around the city, I’ll be beaming with pride.”

David Lycett, Assistant Principal, added: “Well done to all the students for the work they produced on this fantastic project. This bus is going to be so visible in our community, and I’m delighted for Anya and all the finalists. It was an incredibly tough decision in the end, a testament to the high quality of work the students produced.”