An Inverness school has won a UK-wide award recognising its outstanding work with impoverished children in Romania.

The Charlemagne Youth Prize 2009 went to Millburn Academy’s Talita Kum project which, for the past six years, has been taking senior pupils to a summer camp in Romania’s Jimbolia region for two weeks.

The project offers a rare chance for some of the region’s poorest children to escape difficult circumstances through a programme of entertainment and education. Pupil volunteers must raise funds for the trips, partly by organising events which educate Scottish people about Romania.

The prize is for people aged 16-30 who have been involved with projects to promote understanding between European countries. Judges look for examples of Europeans living together, whether through the organisation of youth events, youth exchanges or internet projects with a European dimension.

The Millburn Academy prizewinners were Lewis Ross, Phi Macdonald, Mhairi McGowan, Kayleigh Berg, Daniel McWilliams, Fraser Kane and Sarah-Jane Savage. They will be considered for the European-level Charlemagne Youth Prize, to be awarded in Aachen, Germany, on May 19.