A NEW College student has won the chance to design the National Trust’s flagship Christmas shop window.

Former teacher Helen Bowles was picked from her class of eight. The textiles student’s winning snow design features dancing hares, a hand-made felt owl and falling water.

The window, at the National Trust’s Rodbourne head office, is set to delight shoppers walking past on their way to the designer outlet.

Helen, 53, a Stratton mum-of-two, said: “Children can come up face to face with the animals. That’s the kind of thing I loved doing with my children when they were younger.”

The idea for her snowy countryside scene came after being shown the designs for the National Trust’s “Winter Twilight” Christmas collection, which includes products like cushions, biscuits and Christmas decorations.

“That got me thinking,” said Helen. “I wanted people to feel like they’re having a breath of the outside. We’re bringing the outdoors in.”

She said she was “chuffed to bits” when she heard that her designs had been chosen by the trust.

At the centre of Helen’s window is a rotating snowy merry-go-round, built from white polystyrene and her grandfather’s old Garrard turntable – which Helen says was one of the first to have been built in Swindon.

“It’s big, sturdy and it will hold the hares,” said Helen.

A mature student, Helen is hoping to go on to a degree in textiles after finishing her two-year Higher National course.

She said: “I think you get to that time of life and you think, ‘If I don’t do it now, I won’t ever do it’.

“I’ve always enjoyed textiles. At school I made all the Christmas costumes.”

Ruth Aldous-Taylor, head of retail visual identity at the National Trust, said of the “perfect” display window: “It’s got to grab your attention. The primary point of a shop window is to make you want to go in and see the store.”

The conservation charity, which manages 300 stately homes and historic buildings, approached New College tutors about the competition after coming up with the idea last year.

“They were super-excited to do it,” said Ruth, whose team provided the final year textile students with a clear brief.

“We wanted to get across the beauty of some of the places the trust looks after,” she said.

When the designs were presented, there were two clear stars: Helen and pal Michelle Smith, whose giant winter barn owl will hang in the trust’s Christmas shop.

Ruth said: “Helen and Michelle’s designs were outstanding. They clearly listened to the brief and thought about the impact of the trust.”

Over the Christmas period, the National Trust will be giving Heelis shoppers the chance to win Helen’s beautiful toy animals. Hand-made from felt, they include hares, a badger, an owl and mouse.

Details on the competition will be published later this year.

For more, visit: shop.nationaltrust.org.uk/winter-twilight/c751.