PUPILS from Llandogo Primary School have won the Best Kept Village School award in Wales for the eleventh year running.

However this achievement wasn't greeted with its usual fanfare as the children of the Wye Valley school wanted something more challenging.

As part of their consultation process the pupils themselves decided to seek ideas from the local community of what they could get involved with.

A handful of pupils from years three and four were chosen to give a special presentation to Trellech United Community Council. The children outlined their proposals with a computerised demonstration and asked the councillors for their suggestions of areas of Llandogo that they could take on as their own.

The councillors were so impressed with their enthusiasm that they gave the matter a great deal of thought and suggested that the war memorial and the churchyard were areas that needed immediate attention.

Headteacher Rachel Dare said: "While we were delighted to win the Best Kept Village School competition for the umpteenth time, the award is no longer challenging to us. The children work very hard at the school in maintaining the grounds and developing the area to make it a really great place to learn and enjoy being in.

"But after 11 years, all our work in the garden is part of everyday school life and the children said they want something more challenging. So we approached the local community council to ask for ways in which we can help the community and in so doing show that the children can develop a sense of their own community responsibility by undertaking projects within Llandogo village.

"Litter picking, grass cutting, weeding around the church and village green areas were some of the initial ideas put forward."

Trellech United Community Council have just donated the school with some new litter picking equipment to help them in their tasks.