Talented pupils at a Copeland primary school showcased their public speaking skills during an annual competition.

Students at Thornhill Primary School, near Egremont, delivered speeches to a panel of judges, including Copeland mayor Mike Starkie, about issues in their local community.

Headteacher Wendy Figes said: "Our annual public speaking event is a chance to showcase the skills that pupils are developing in class: confidence, creativity and clarity.

"Being able to speak in public is a skill which is a useful one to develop to support lifelong interaction.

"Our pupils were asked to support the Mayor's 'Pride of Place' campaign and talk about the things they liked about their community and the issues which they wanted addressed."

Harvey Jobson was named as the winner of the competition after his speech entertained the three judges; Mrs Figes, mayor Mike Starkie and Rosalind Amey, from the Thornhill residents' committee.

The headteacher said: "The event was a success with parents and other family members providing a supportive audience to the speakers.

"The overall winner was Harvey Jobson for his passionate and, at times, humourous speech. He will have his name engraved on the school trophy."

The Copeland Pride of Place initiative aims to encourage locals to take pride in their area and work towards making Copeland a better place to live, work and visit.

Mr Starkie said: "I'd like to thank Thornhill School for the fantastic opportunity of helping to judge their public speaking event.

"I was blown away by the courage of the children who stood in front of their peers and parents to deliver some very powerful speeches around the issues that blight our communities.

"The children showed great passion and some excellent suggestions on how to combat these issues, and Thornhill is a shining example of how local schools can get involved in our Pride of Place campaign.

"We have a number of schools signed up to support the campaign already and we're very excited to see the younger generation getting involved in helping to improve their communities."