AN Eaglescliffe schoolgirl has been highly commended in a national handwriting competition.

Gino Cara, eight, was one of 180,000 children to enter the Parker Prize National Schools Handwriting Competition.

Gino, a pupil at The Links Primary School, Eaglescliffe came second in her age group. The competition has been running since 1989 and is open to schoolchildren aged four to 14.

Handwriting expert Rosemary Sassoon said: "We have seen improved handwriting across all age categories with hardly any print script entries, which is excellent.

"The improved standard is particularly noticeable in the seven to ten-year-old category," she said.