A WIRRAL pupil put her artistic talents to the test and won a national competition.

Amy Varnham, a year nine pupil at The Oldershaw Academy won the secondary school artwork category in the Arts & Minds contest, organised by the NASUWT-The Teachers' Union.

Children and young people from primary, secondary and special schools are judged in two categories: art and creative writing.

Amy's entry "Mixed" features striking drawings of people from different ethnic background set against a collage of newspaper cuttings.

Amy was presented with the prize at a national awards ceremony in London this week.

The judges said of the artwork: "The quality of the drawing is very good and it addresses the whole business of cultural diversity.

"It makes you want to look closer - it has that draw. It's quite compelling."

Chris Keates, acting General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:

"Congratulations to Amy for producing an excellent piece of artwork that shows just how deeply children and young people can understand these important issues.

"All of the entries were creative and clever, so the judges had great difficulty in choosing the winners.

"The high quality of entries is a credit to the skills and abilities of the pupils and their teachers and support staff.

"The NASUWT is proud to organise the Arts & Minds competition which is an engaging and effective way to promote and celebrate cultural diversity."