Pupils and staff at a Lanarkshire school and nursery were pure gold as they scooped a prestigious accolade.
New Monkland Primary and Nursery have become only the ninth school - both primary and secondary - in North Lanarkshire to be awarded the top honour of UNICEF’s Rights Respecting Schools Award.
Everyone at the Glenmavis facility defied challenges including COVID over the past two years to secure the gold award, which "recognises a school’s achievement in putting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practice within the school and beyond".
Nichola Polatajko, principal teacher of New Monkland Primary School and Nursery, told Lanarkshire Live : "The gold award has only been won by nine schools across the whole of North Lanarkshire Council so it's a wonderful success for all of us.
"The children, staff and community worked very hard over a two-year period after meeting the criteria for the Silver Rights Respecting Schools Award, despite all of the challenges and restrictions COVID put on us as a school and nursery.
"We put in a great effort to embed the principals of the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child in our whole school and nursery ethos, and to contribute to our local community by having our youngsters go out into the village of Glenamavis as part of our Community Champions project.
"This sees the children spend time picking up litter and cleaning the area on a weekly basis to ensure that the community has a clean, safe and happy environment to learn, live and work in."
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