PIONEERING school pupils were honoured at a special awards ceremony in 2008.

Students from St Luke’s High were honoured with the Princess Diana Award – a national prize which offers public recognition to those who have tackled bullying in their school community.

The Barrhead school was honoured for the efforts of a 24-strong group of sixth year pupils who set up a ‘buddy’ system.

This saw the senior students working alongside first year pupils to make their transition from primary to secondary as smooth as possible.

Caring youngsters gave up their own time to have lunch with the ‘newbies’ and listen to any concerns they had.

Three of the school’s senior pupils also earned individual honours.

Matthew O’Donald and Caroline Robinson were handed awards for their achievements in ‘peer education,’ while Craig Cunningham was honoured for  ‘stimulating local sponsorship.’

Headteacher Patricia Kennedy said at the time: “We are very proud of our pupils gaining the Diana Award for their anti-bullying work. They have shown true citizenship values in tackling an issue which has no place in our school as every pupil has the right to go to school and not be bullied.

“Values are also at the heart of a Catholic school and the award recognises that the values of caring for others is alive and well in St Luke’s.”