A 14-year-old student from Malvern had her artistic talents recognised when a Birmingham-based company commissioned her to create their Christmas card.

Not-for-profit Ormiston Education runs the You Choose learning programme, which helps learners gain qualifications outside mainstream education.

As part of a You Choose project, home-educated Beth Hughes submitted hand-drawn fairy illustrations, which were so popular at Ormiston that they asked for one to be created especially for this year’s cards.

In return, Ormiston has made a donation to Beth’s chosen charity Water Aid, to help African children have access to clean water.

Victoria Griffith of Ormiston said: “Beth is a very talented young lady. We think that her work is fantastic and she deserves recognition for it.”

The cards she created are going out to hundreds of schools and businesses, giving Beth recognition for her skills and a valuable addition to her portfolio.

Beth said “I was surprised and happy to be asked. It’s certainly given me confidence to take the next step and make it a small business; I’d love to make a living as an artist.”