A FORMER student of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College in Darlington, Loz Atkinson (right), is creating a life-size elephant for a parade in London.

There will be 250 elephants, all hand-painted by both established and emerging talent, as part of a campaign to ensure the survival of the Asian elephant, whose numbers have declined to such an extent that the species may become extinct by 2050.

Said Ms Atkinson: “As an emerging artist, I feel very honoured to be part of such a wonderfully creative project. My design represents a sense of hope in work being done by the charity in highlighting the Asian elephant’s situation as it faces extinction and urgently needs its natural habitat secured for it to survive.”

Now 25, she attended the sixth form college from 2001-3, completing four A-levels, including fine art, before taking up a university place. Now working as an artist in Leicester, she regularly travels to Darlington to visit her parents.

The London parade, Urban Jungle, will involve leading artists and designers. It is being organised by the charity, Elephant Family, from an fundraising idea that originated in Holland and has been staged in Belgium.

The elephants will grace various landmarks, turning the capital into an urban jungle, and then be herded together in one of the parks for a public exhibition.

Later, they will be auctioned by Sothebys aimed at raising more than £1m, benefiting more than 15 UK conservation charities working in Asia..

Ms Atkinson, who was born in Inverness, graduated from De Montfort University, Leicester, in 2007 with a BA (Hons) in fine art and has been making, exhibiting and taking on commissions ever since.

With help from the Princes Trust, she has just formed her own business. She can be emailed at mail@lozatkinson.co.uk, tel 07794-891569, website, lozatkinson.co.uk.