Creative Renfrewshire pupils won top prizes at Scotland’s National Centre for Languages national poetry competition Mother Tongue Other Tongue.

Each year youngsters are encouraged to to explore and write poetry in new languages, or for bilingual pupils to do so in their mother tongue.

The award ceremony was held at Language Show Live at the SECC on March 12.

Renfrewshire Council EAL (English as an additional language) teacher Ruth Cunningham’s current pupils from Renfrewshire Council have scooped prizes in the Mother Tongue category.

The winner of the upper primary group, Daniel Homstol, arrived from Norway last year and currently attends Bishopton primary.

He wrote a poem in Norwegian about a fox who likes to write.

Runner-ups included András Poszmik, who is at St Anne’s primary in Erskine and has newly arrived from Hungary.

He recited and wrote about a famous poem called Nightingale.

Milmante Dzisevic wrote a poem in Russian about her bulldog Lady.

She has been in Scotland for a few years but originally came from Lithuania.

Ms Cunningham said: “The competition has allowed my students to use their ‘other voice’ and develop their writing skills in both languages.

“It has been an incredibly successful activity and has benefited the children in terms of motivation and feeling valued.

“We are in a critical time in education and this sort of event really highlights the good work that is being done throughout Scotland for migrant and refugee children.

“I am delighted for the children and would love them to share their positive experience with others.”

The poems can be viewed by visiting http://ealrenfrewshire.blogspot.co.uk