Around 160 children competed in the East Renfrewshire heats in the hope of going on to win the competition against their Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire rivals.

The quiz competition has been set up to challenge negative stereotypes surrounding age and to give young and old the opportunity to work together.

The teams are made up of groups of older people and school pupils as the regions battle it out over a series of challenges which include playing a game of golf on the Nintendo Wii, identifying fashion throughout the decades as well as hanging washing on a washing line.

And the overall winners from East Renfrewshire are set to take on their opponents from Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire next month at the Paisley Lagoon Centre on Friday, November 28.

The intergeneratial quiz is part of the council’s remit to reshape care for older people — and to also break down barriers by getting younger and older people to work together to share knowledge and skills.

This has many benefits including reducing isolation, improving mental health and providing structure to an older person’s week.

Community link worker, Alan Stevenson, who set up the project and will be quizmaster, said: “Changes in all our lives has resulted in many community activities becoming age segregated and this has resulted in older and younger people having less positive exchanges.

“This event will be a great opportunity for all taking part to show the positive outcomes that can be achieved by people of all ages working, learning and volunteering together.

“I would like to thank all the schools, our partners and all the participants for their time and effort.” This year’s event is the second installment of the competition. However, the introduction of teams from North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire will give the competition a competitive edge.

Ann-Marie Gordon, head teacher at St John’s Primary, added: “Teachers have never seen a group of children having so much fun! What we learned is that older people can have as much fun as children.

“St John’s youngsters have really enjoyed the friendship they made with the older people.

“The project was a great success and we hope to create other opportunities to develop this friendship further.”