YOUNG artists have been getting their creative juices flowing by entering the North Swindon Secondary Schools Art Competition.

The first round of the competition was judged by a panel of local judges, including Neil Selby of Swindon Council and Rebecca Waldman from ArtPoint.

Nova Hreod School, Isambard Community School and Uplands School all took part in the competition.

The competition saw 45 pieces of artwork whittled down to just 11 finalists.

The budding artists who entered the competition are all pupils whose schools are part of the North Swindon PFI project.

Pupils were asked to create a piece of wall mountable art, A2 or A3 in size, and in any style or medium.

Richard Groome, John Laing's regional operations director, said: "We asked that the subject matter be suitable for a corporate environment and told them we were looking for unique and imaginative designs to brighten up our office space or display in exhibition.

"We wanted to see our theme "integration" reflected in the artwork."

The PFI project is headed up by John Laing, the company which followed the design, build, finance and most recently the operation of seven schools, in partnership with Swindon Council.

The final 11 entries will be judged by the John Laing board of directors, along with an education curator from the Tate Modern, at John Laing's central London headquarters next Friday.

All finalists and their parents will be invited to attend the judging, and enjoy dinner and overnight stay in central London.

They will also have a private tour of the Tate Modern and a trip on the London Eye.

The three top winners will also receive grants for their schools' art departments.