Good news for all those concerned that the ‘Famous Five’ or ‘Mr McGregor’s Garden’ would soon be forgotten in this new digital era. According to a new poll of 1,000 children from all over the UK, Enid Blyton and Beatrix Potter were some of the most widely recognised names when children were asked about significant cultural, artistic and literary figures.

The poll asked children aged from 5 to 16 years about their artistic tastes and which authors, artists, writers and even vloggers they recognised by name. Revealing which of these famous names may be ‘extinct’ within a generation and exposing what modern parents are likely to be reading and showing their children on TV, in books and in galleries, the names that children were asked to identify that they recognised were:

  • Enid Blyton
  • Beatrix Potter
  • Lewis Carroll
  • Rudyard Kipling
  • Zoella (Zoe Sugg, vlogger)
  • Van Gogh
  • Quentin Blake
  • Claude Monet
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Dr Seuss

Whilst nationally Beatrix Potter, Enid Blyton and Dr Seuss were ranked first (with 66 per cent), second (65 per cent) and third (61 per cent) respectively when asked which people they had ever heard of; the artist Monet came in eighth (just 28 per cent) and Roald Dahl’s famous illustrator Quentin Blake was ninth with 26 per cent. Maybe not immediately identifiable by name, Blake’s illustrations illuminated Dahl’s humorous stories with unmistakeable character. Surprisingly, as she has more than 9.5 million YouTube subscribers, vlogger Zoella came almost last in every age group as a recognisable figure.

Amongst younger children aged 5 to 6, Beatrix Potter was the author most recognised with 45 per cent of the total share. 15 to 16 year olds chose Steven Spielberg as their most famous cultural ambassador (90 per cent had heard of him). Surprisingly for the ‘digital age’ amongst 9 to 14 year olds Enid Blyton was the most famous person on the list with nearly 70 per cent selecting her. The most 7 to 8 year olds, however, recognised Dr Seuss (57 per cent) above 19th century artists Van Gogh (38 per cent) and Monet with just 16 per cent.

Regionally across the UK the picture was fairly even with Enid Blyton, Dr Seuss and Beatrix Potter the most popular creative figures in London, Scotland, the West Midlands and Yorkshire & the Humber. In the East Midlands a love of cinema shone through with children there choosing Steven Spielberg as the most recognisable name (61 per cent) on the list. Welsh children also preferred Enid Blyton (72 per cent) but didn’t recognise Quentin Blake (16 per cent).

Six per cent of all the children polled didn’t recognise any names on the list which may take teachers by surprise as many feature on the national curriculum.

The online poll was commissioned for holidaycottages.co.uk to learn more about children’s cultural tastes ahead of the launch of a new competition they are launching to find Britain’s best young authors, artists and video film directors.

Launching in January 2016, holidaycottages.co.uk’s ‘Young Creatives’ competition will ask schools, Scouts, Brownies and other youth groups to enter their best work.

They will have the chance to win part of the £2000 prize which includes books, holiday vouchers and photography prizes. The competition is in partnership with Penguin books and is being judged by celebrity children’s authors, Jeremy Strong and Chris Bradford, alongside MD of Photobox, Robert May. There will be two age groups for entries, under 11’s and under 16’s.

James Morris, managing director of holidaycottages.co.uk said “It’s very encouraging that many children recognised the authors and artists widely renowned as ‘classic’ names. However, the poll suggests that many of the most famous painters may be starting to slip off the radar. Our aim with the ‘Young Creatives’ competition is to encourage children to paint, write or produce short films and express their creativity. As providers of holidays, we know that when children’s imaginations are stimulated by a great day at the beach or on a long forest walk, the best creative moments happen. We hope that by giving children an outlet such as the Young Creatives competition to show their best work, it will remind each of us to value the creative and artistic elements in our lives.”