No flagging in the race for new county colours

Greenlaw Primary pupils start working on their flag designs

The Flag for Berwickshire’s schools team has have visited eight schools so far, working with 375 pupils in Chirnside, Eyemouth, Westruther, Cockburnspath, Duns, Swinton, Greenlaw and Coldingham.

The team – Scotland’s flag expert, Philip Tibbetts, and Claire Beattie and Georgie Fay from the Marchmont Makers Foundation – has been running workshops to promote the competition, explain the meaning and relevance of flags, get the young people thinking about designs and introducing them to print making.

The Berwickshire Civic Society launched the competition, which closes on 31 July, to give individuals and groups the chance to submit a design for the flag. It has been part funded by Fallago Environment Fund and supported by local and national partners.

The school's flag team, from left: Georgie Fay, Claire Beattie and Philip Tibbetts.

Chair of the Civic Society, Brian Payne, said: “You don't need to be an artist to design a flag. We just need an idea of what you would put on the flag and what inspired your design. You can submit it in any format. The competition is open to anyone, of any age. An assessment panel of representatives from across the community, along with the Flag Institute and the Lyon Court, will choose a final set of five designs to be put to a public vote. Each of the five shortlisted entries will be recreated to the same standard before going to a public vote in September.

The winner will receive £250, and their flag will be recognised by the Court of Lord Lyon – the body responsible for recording and protecting all heraldry, flags and national symbols in Scotland. The Flag for Berwickshire will be a free, public symbol for all to use.

More information, including design guidelines, can be found on the competition website at https://www.flagforberwickshire.org/