Proving they have talent in spades were youngsters who took part in a sandcastle competition at Aberdeen beach.
But the lesson was far from wishy washy – with the pupils from Mile End Primary using the experience to learn about science and engineering.
And fun was shore to be had as the P3 children got stuck in to the sand sculptures, which they had already designed in their classrooms.
Organised and sponsored by specialists Sand Monitoring Services [SMS], the aim of the contest was to teach youngsters about sand, encourage them to think about a career in science and engineering and also help towards building connections between education and the oil and gas industry.
In the run up to the event, two members of staff went to the school to give talks about sand.
SMS co-founder and field services manager Andrew Kinsler said: “It’s good to introduce science to children at a young age and we are delighted to help the school to achieve this in an enjoyable way – we hope it may help them choose a career in it when they’re older.
“Our line of work can be full of complicated terms and technical detail but it’s important that this doesn’t put off young people aspiring to break into the industry. We wanted to show the children that science is fun and what better way than to have a sandcastle competition at the beach.”
It is the second year the firm has organised a beach event for P3s at Mile End.
Depute headteacher Janet McRoberts said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed creating their special sand sculptures.”
Engineering and consultancy company SMS provides services to the oil and gas industry from its headquarters in Aberdeen and Malaysia.