Stonemasonry students at Weymouth College were on fine form for the annual stone carving competition in May that saw 35 competitors taking part from as far afield as Australia, America and Ireland.

Students taking part ranged from those on the Applied Architectural Stonework & Conservation, course to those studying for their NVQs and even two local schoolboys on a masonry taster session.

The contest is held annually by the college\'s Masonry Department to showcase the talents of its students. Entrants had two and a half days to complete a stone boss carving in Bath Stone using only hand tools.

An impressive range of entries meant the judges - including Chris Bromidge, MD of Bath Stone Group; Dave Henson, Senior Conservator from Salisbury Cathedral; Phil Thomas, Headmaster of Wey Valley School; and Henry Russell from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors - had a hard time choosing the winners.

The first year prize went to Johnny Wilson, the second year prize to Dave Edgar and the overall winner was Gareth Shiels. All winners are studying on Higher Education programmes in Applied Architectural Stonework at Weymouth. They each received a certificate and tools and the overall winner, Gareth, received a book voucher from Donhead books.