LONDON—Lauren Mincher may be only 18 years old, but she has already received the Saatchi Gallery stamp of approval, winning the top spot in the annual art prize for schools, jointly administered by the gallery and the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. That prize, for her highly detailed portrait of her grandfather, will earn her £2,000 to spend on art and computer equipment. The Durham Johnston School’s art department, where she attends class, will receive a special £10,000 grant.

The prize was selected by an expert jury that included artists Antony Gormley and Peter Blake; Ekow Eshun, the artistic director of the Institute for Contemporary Art; Andrew Graham-Dixon, the Sunday Telegraph art critic; and Camila Batmanghelidjh, the founder of the Kids Company charity.

The 20 works that were shortlisted for the prize are on display at the Saatchi Gallery Dec. 3 to 14, to the delight of the famously controversial collector. “I love seeing the gallery full of schoolchildren enjoying the art,” Saatchi said. “The rooms we have for the schools to display their pupils' work are very popular with the public and I'm thrilled with the selection made by the team of judges.”

Sheila Hitchcock, the head of art at the Durham Johnston School, revealed her teaching method, which could be partly responsible for Mincher’s success. “Our ethos is to encourage individuality in our students,” she said. “I am utterly delighted for Lauren.”

Read more at the Telegraph.