A NEILSTON nursery planted itself firmly in the record books a decade ago – by becoming the first in Scotland to scoop a prestigious award.

Madras Family Centre, in Main Street, was awarded a Platinum Award for Enterprise in 2008 for its initiatives throughout the year.

Natalie Rankin, senior child development officer and the enterprise co-ordinator at the nursery, said at the time: “We are all really delighted – the children, parents and the staff.

“The children put in such a huge amount of effort into this project and they did everything themselves.

“We are very proud of them and winning this award has made it all seem worthwhile.

“We never expected to win, but it was a good surprise nonetheless.

“We are grateful to everyone who turned out and gave their support to the project.”

Speaking at the presentation of the award, Councillor Elaine Green, who was education vice-convener at the time, said: “This is a first for Madras Nursery School and a first for East Renfrewshire.

“I was most impressed by the work of the youngsters who made decorative pots and candles and sold them.”

Staff at the nursery encouraged the children to come up with ideas to raise money and the pupils decided to make their own plant pots and grow their own plants.

They then sold the items to parents and managed to generate a profit of £150, which was kindly donated to the Dogs Trust.

The money was to be used by the charity to pay for guide dogs to undergo training so they could provide vital support for blind people.