A MENTAL health charity is £3,000 better off thanks to a group of local secondary school pupils.

The Renfrewshire charity Recovery Across Mental Health was chosen by the winners of a competition organised in partnership with the Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Scotland.

Teams of S3 pupils from St Luke’s High School, Barrhead, battled it out to win the cash for their chosen charity.

Ross Chalmers, principal teacher at the school, said: “The pupils were worthy winners in the end. There are great opportunities for the young people involved to take what they have learned and apply that to their future in the workplace.

“The panel was very impressed by the presentation and how the children were passionate about the charity.”

St Luke’s YPI Scotland event involved teams of pupils researching local issues and then nominating charities to claim the £3,000 prize.

More than 100 young people, the entire S3 year group, were involved in the project.

The winning team of Olivia Walsh, Bethany Mulrooney, Lucy Higgins and Kaleb Queen won the cash after presenting in front of a judging panel, which included the school’s head teachers and Councillor Paul O’Kane, a former pupil of the school.

They now have the chance to enjoy a concert by multi-award-winning singer Emile Sande, who will perform at YPI Scotland’s showcase event at Perth Concert Hall this week.

After winning, the team said they were “overcome with emotion” and the money would mean “so much”.

A spokeswoman for RAMH said: “We wish to sincerely thank all the pupils and staff for their significant generosity, positive engagement and continual contribution towards raising awareness around mental health.”