DETERMINED pupils at a Greenock east end school didn't let continued coronavirus restrictions stop them from picking up a prestigious educational honour.

A total of 22 tenacious youngsters at King's Oak Primary have now completed their SQA Gold Award.

Pupils had to opt-in to take part in the awards scheme, which runs alongside their other schoolwork.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, they had to do a lot of their work at home and have been responsible for managing their own workload throughout.

But despite the challenges, the young people excelled and completed their work to a very high standard.

King's Oak's 2021 Gold Award success follows eight P7s completing the course over the summer.

School family support worker Caroline McCahill says the pupils have shown a lot of resilience.

She added: "This is quite a 'hands-off' course and the young people have a lot of responsibility for their own work.

"They've had to be very proactive in asking for help and support when they needed it.

"The fact that they chose to opt-in to the course and continue with the work while everything has been going on shows their determination to succeed."

To complete the award, pupils had to complete six booklets full of activities covering themes like litter-picking, hobbies and interests, looking after pets, healthy eating and eco-awareness.

The SQA Gold Award plays a big part in helping youngsters transition to high school.

Coursework is internally verified by Inverclyde Council's community learning and development team and then externally verified by the SQA.

Primary seven pupils Adam Hepburn, Nathan Love and Astyn McKechnie are just three of the young people to gain the accolade.

Adam said: "I enjoyed the health and wellbeing course - I got to learn more about my mental, physical and emotional health and I designed a poster."

Nathan told the Tele: "I enjoyed the hobbies and interests module, as I got the chance to play golf."

Astyn added: "I like the looking after pets course because I got to spend a lot of time with my dog."

Principal teacher Craig Thomson says staff at King's Oak are delighted by the the hard-working pupils' achievements.

He added: "They all did really well and we're very proud of them all.

"It's an amazing achievement in normal circumstances but especially so in these very difficult times."

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LOO-KING GOOD: Principal teacher Craig Thomson, family support worker Caroline McCahill with pupils Astyn McKechnie, Adam Hepburn and Nathan Love.