PUPILS at a North-East school have won national praise for their efforts in clamping down on bullying.

Children from Sacred Heart Primary School, in Middlesbrough, won the Blue Friday photograph competition, run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance.

As part of Anti-Bullying Week last year, children and staff from schools across the country took part in Blue Friday to help raise awareness of the issue.

Activities included wearing blue for the day and tying blue bows around school fences.

A photograph from the event impressed judges, who handed over a set of fiction books donated by publishers Bloomsbury, Orion Children's Books, Puffin and Walker Books.

Learning mentor Ellie Felgate said: "All the children and staff wore blue and the children stood together in large letters to spell out the word tell, to reinforce how important it is to tell someone you are being bullied."

Simon Blake, manager of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said: "Anti-Bullying Week was all about the positive involvement of children and young people and we had some fantastic entries for the photo competition from all over the country.

"Many congratulations to Sacred Heart School for their hard work."