St Margaret's High School in Airdrie holds Youth Philanthropy Initiative final

Hard-working pupils at an Airdrie school were rewarded for making a difference in the community - with a charity also in the money thanks to their efforts.

St Margaret’s High held its Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) final, with proud parents among those in attendance.

YPI is an active citizenship programme, empowering youngsters to support their communities while developing a range of skills.

Four talented groups at St Margaret’s High competed for a £3000 grant provided by the Wood Foundation which was established in 2007 by Sir Ian Wood and his immediate family to “address societal and economic inequity locally, nationally, and internationally”.

Each team chose a charity to learn and submit presentations about, with the aim of securing the four-figure sum to boost the winning organisation’s work.

Pupils Anna Armitage, Jessica Pryce, Orla McCormick, Rachel Caulley, Lily Scott and Ava McGuigan backed River Kids; Ruby Lawson, Emma Smith and Megan Gallagher chose You Are My Sunshine (YAMS); Lucy Cain, Poppy Reid and Lily Rankin chose Baby Loss Retreat; and Maci Penman and Holly Penman supported Diamonds in the Community.

A panel of five judges had the unenviable task of choosing the winners, with the YAMS trio coming out on top.

YAMS is a small hub with a dedicated team who aim to “make a difference through education, support, advice and therapies”.

The winners were presented with a cheque for their chosen charity by YPI Scotland programme officer Lynn Raynal.

A St Margaret’s High spokesperson said: “We’d like to thank all of the pupils involved for their tremendous work.

“Congratulations go to Ruby, Emma and Megan on being crowned winners, and they were absolutely delighted to donate £3000 to the YAMS team.”

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