A MELROSE pupil has been commended for his artwork by a prestigious panel of judges in a national competition.

Joseph Ward, an S1 at St Marys School, was one of 27 runners up across the country in the John Byrne National Drawing Competition, beating thousands of other entries to finish in the top 30.

Joseph received the commendation from John, who unveiled the winners and runners up at a special exhibition of competition entries at Paisley Museum and Art Gallery.

Each of the 27 commended young artists received a specially designed certificate from John to commemorate their participation in the competition.

John Byrne, said: “I’m really pleased to announce the highly commended entries of this year’s competition, and I’d like to offer my congratulations them.

"Their artwork was chosen as it stood out against the competition during the judging process thanks to their drawing impressive skills.

“The young people in our country never cease to amaze me with their artistic skills and extraordinary talent, and that has come through in this year’s entries. The standard of work has been fantastic and I hope that the competition has inspired many of the young entrants to continue to enjoy art and draw more.”

In addition to receiving the personalised certificate, Joseph's art has been put on display at the museum as part of a special exhibition.

The competition aims to inspire young people from P4 to S3 to get creative. The children and young people were invited to enter artwork of any size and, created in any media.

Bill Maxwell, Education Scotland Chief Executive said: “The competition is a great opportunity for children and young people to tap into their creativity and unleash their artistic talents and showcase their work in front of one of Scotland’s most talented and renowned artists.”

The judging panel, headed by John, consisted of Ron Cowie, Senior Education Officer for Expressive Arts at Education Scotland, Wilma Eaton from Strathclyde University, Lorna Macdonald from Edinburgh City Council, Heather Barclay and Kenny Christie, Development Officers at Education Scotland.