HEROES: Year 8 Winner

Valentina wins for two brilliant drawings. One of Captain Tom and another of her aunt who is a consultant on an ICU at University College Hospital in London.

Valentina said: The NHS is amazing and over the years they have helped me hugely. I was diagnosed with an auto immune illness when I was seven years old and have spent a lot of time over the years in hospital. All the NHS workers are heroes. Each one of them contributes to the amazing care that I have always been given.

At the start of the pandemic, I was put into shielding because I have a very low white cell count which means I can't fight infection very well, so my doctors thought it was best that I didn't leave my house. I stayed at home for 131 days and found that doing Art helped me. This is why I have entered two of my drawings.

This picture is inspired by my Aunty Nikki who is a consultant at University College Hospital London and has been working in the ICU and on the frontline during the whole of the pandemic. She has sacrificed seeing her family to carry on working and helping the most vulnerable and sick patients. In my eyes, this makes her my hero.

Captain Sir Tom is an inspiration because he raised over £30 million for the NHS during the first Lockdown. We are so sad about losing him, but thankful for all he did for the NHS.