A lesson in how to succeed in advertising

SARK SCHOOL pupils have again brought credit on themselves, their families and their school with their entries for this newspaper's Design an Ad competition.

Head teacher Sarah Cottle said the school's Year 9 pupils 'have excelled themselves' by winning a total of 19 awards, including three third prizes, four second and five first prizes.

'Michael Major was the envy of his friends when he won an iPod for his advertisement for Credit Suisse, which won first prize in the senior competition,' said Sarah. 'But top of the class are Amelia Southern, who won five awards including being named as one of the top five junior designers in the Bailiwick, and Tia Lalor, who won no fewer than six awards, including a first prize for her advertisement for legal firm Appleby.'

The winning ads will be included in a special supplement with the Guernsey Press on Wednesday 11 July.

While she was proudly telling me about this latest success, Sarah also mentioned that the students will be holding a special Olympic Week next month. The opening ceremony is on 9 July, with a swimming gala the following day, athletics on Wednesday 11 July and the 'marathon' (over one mile, not 26) and closing ceremony with medal presentation on the Friday.

As Sarah said, it should be a fun week, if exhausting.

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Success of another sort now and I'm told that Sark couple Robert and Gemma Knight were among the many who completed the Itex Walk earlier this month.

They set off at 4.30am and completed the 39.5-mile course – including 3,951 cliff path steps – about 14 hours later.

In doing so, Richard and Gemma raised a tidy sum of money for various charities.

As someone who now struggles on anything other than an absolutely flat road surface, I don't know how they did it but many congratulations nonetheless.

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As I write, the island's Medical Committee is holding the first of a couple of public meetings to discuss what for many is an increasingly worrying issue – that of paying for secondary medical care, the committee having earlier circulated to all Sark households a report containing what they see as options for varying methods of providing that care.

While I think that circulating the option report before a public discussion is a bit 'cart before the horse', at least the committee is involving the public in what many believe to be one of the most difficult issues the island faces in coming years. They deserve thanks for doing so.

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Stocks Hotel's Paul Armorgie told me last week that they have been awarded the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for 2012 – yet another feather in the cap of one of Sark's longest-established businesses.

An increasing number of travellers, including me, use the Trip Advisor website when deciding where to stay and eat while on holiday and I know that many local residents also monitor how Sark businesses fare in the eyes of those who use them.

I do that myself and have noticed that Paul also monitors the site on a very regular basis and is swift to respond whenever visitors make suggestions or offer comments on this increasingly popular website.

Little Sark's La Sablonnerie was also awarded the certificate.

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I noticed the other day on another website that someone inferred there was some sort of conspiratorial reason for the removal from thisisguernsey.com of an out of date article about Sark's government.

The reason is simple. I saw the article, realised it was out of date and told the editor, who ordered its removal. Nothing more, nothing less.

Of course, conspiracy theorists won't have that and no doubt they'll soon be suggesting that because Jenson Button has moved to Monaco, he too has a financial interest in the Guernsey Press.