The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Scottish life through a lens
The top ten entries in our joint Herald and Royal Bank of Scotland photography competition are revealed . . .
THE Herald, in proud partnership with Royal Bank of Scotland invited the country’s photographers to enter their most accomplished work with this competition that celebrates the launch of the stunning new £50 banknote design.
The note, which features the image of historic Scottish educationalist Flora Stevenson, is the bank’s first £50 note to feature a woman on its face.
The £50 – which has been designed in consultation with the public – is the fourth in the bank’s ‘Fabric of Nature’ series, and includes illustrations of the Scottish osprey on its reverse and will join Royal Bank’s £5, £10 and £20 notes.
Designed in partnership with leading Scottish arts’ organisations and designers including Graven Images, Nile, Stucco, Timorous Beasties, O’Street and the Glasgow School of Art, the £50 is made from De La Rue’s Safeguard® polymer material and will also contain a variety of new security features, making it difficult to counterfeit but easy to authenticate.
Flora, who was born in Glasgow, was a British social reformer with a special interest in education for poor or neglected children, and in education for girls. She was one of the first women in the United Kingdom to be elected to a school board.
The primary school, named after her, opened in 1899, the year of her 60th birthday. She passed away in 1905.
Commenting, Royal Bank of Scotland’s Scotland Regional board chair Malcolm Buchanan, said: “At Royal Bank of Scotland, we feel that a banknote’s value is more than just the figure printed across its front – it is our symbol which lives in people’s pockets and touches everyday lives.”
Opposite are the top ten entries as chosen by The Royal Bank of Scotland and The Herald. The winning entry – as selected by Malcolm Buchanan and
The Herald will be announced next month in The Herald.