CHILDREN from St Mary's Catholic Primary School had a day to remember as they were crowned winners of the Premier League and Sky Ocean Rescue's Plastic Pollution Challenge.

The school had a visit from both the Premier League Trophy and the 10-metre Sky Ocean Rescue whale "Plasticus" to reward the innovative ideas that formed their winning pledge to raise awareness of plastic pollution, and the details of how they would reduce it.

Headteacher Rachel Acton said: "We are so proud of all our pupils who have really taken this campaign to heart and helped make a better community for all of us.

"It's great to see pupils take on such an important cause at such a young age and seeing them educate people within our own local community is very inspiring.

"By empowering them to take responsibility and understand the damage that single-use plastic is having on the environment, Premier League and Sky Ocean Rescue have helped shape a new generation of environmentally-minded young people."

The Plastic Pollution Challenge was launched at the start of the year and asked primary school pupils to pledge how they will cut use of plastics, with prizes for the best responses.

Pupils from Year 3 at St Mary's began their campaign with a series of parent and school assemblies while, in school, they started a crisp-packet recycling programme and built plastic-bottle greenhouses.

When they realised there were no local recycling bins in their area, they wrote three letters; one to their headteacher, one to the mayor of Wrexham and one to Plastipak packaging, who then donated some to the school.

Making sure the message was shared with their local community, the students then displayed posters in local cafes to educate people about reusing plastic bottles.

Teacher Erin Astbury said the concept was making an impact on the children's lives and explained their reasons for wanting to do something about the worldwide problem of plastic.

She said: "It all started when there was a school disco and the children noticed we were using so much plastic, it was ridiculous.

"So they decided they wanted to do something about it, and because of all their hard work they were regional winners and now national winners. I'm so proud of them.

"They've been really passionate and wanted to educate Wrexham and the school about how important it is to reduce plastic pollution."

Wrexham Mayor Cllr Rob Walsh was also on hand to offer his congratulations to the children for all their hard work and effort to promote the problem with plastic pollution had been rewarded.

Cllr Walsh added: "I knew they were going to be involved in this, but to achieve what they have done is fantastic.

"Not only have they brought pride to their own school, they actually brought pride to Wrexham too and I must thank all the pupils and staff at St Mary's for all the work they've done."

As a result of the work the children have done, all school events now use paper cups, and kitchen staff sort through food and packaging to ensure everything is recycled appropriately.

The Plastic Pollution Challenge is part of Premier League Primary Stars teaching resources dedicated to the Sky Ocean Rescue campaign.