This is Charlotte Edwards proudly sitting on the bench in Cwmbran town centre that features her ‘happy to chat’ plaque design.
The Llanyrafon Primary School and Zine Khan, from the Federation of Blenheim Road and Coed Eva, were the two winners of a Torfaen Council competition to create something that would encourage people to chat to others.
The bench in Gwent Square is the first one that Charlotte spotted with her work on.
Kristin Edwards, her mum, told Cwmbran Life: “She came up with the design by thinking of a happy place where the sun was always shining and vibrant colours – where she felt people would like to talk. She was totally shocked when she found out but was overjoyed. I knew a few days before her, as her dad and I were invited to a special assembly, where she was announced as the overall winner, but we had to keep it a secret for the whole weekend.
“We went to the library on Thursday evening to sign up to the Summer Reading Challenge and that’s where Charlotte spotted her plaque. Her first one! Charlotte is absolutely thrilled to see her work on display, and hopes that the benches will tackle loneliness and encourage people to be kind to each other.”
Primary and secondary schools will also receive a plaque to place on a playground bench.