A year of sweat and sporting achievement came to an end recently as the winners of the West Dunbartonshire School Games were announced at a special ceremony in Dumbarton.

Three local schools were among the roll of honour with Levenvale, Haldane and Knoxland primaries joining Dumbarton Academy in picking up accolades on the evening, held in the town's Denny Civic Theatre.

The School Games saw 161 competitions, fixtures and festivals taking place across the year in fourteen different sports - with over 6000 children across the region taking part.

As part of the Games, schools are awarded for participating in non-competitive festivals throughout the year, as well as receiving points for their placing in competitive events taking place across the school year.

Prior to the Games being established, the festivals and competitions stood alone as separate competitions, but now all are counted as part of the school's points total through the year, with pupils of all ages and stages in the schools able to contribute and build as many points as possible through the year.

Dumbarton Academy took home the 'High School Champions' award - the first time that the Games had included secondary schools.

Knoxland Primary walked away with the 'Large School Winners' award for schools with a school roll of over 250 pupils, while Haldane Primary claimed the Spirit of West Dunbartonshire School Games Award - awarded for good sportsmanship throughout and voted for by fellow schools.

The strongest local performance of the evening came from Levenvale Primary, who claimed two awards on the night, in the 'Small School' category and also won the 'Most Improved Award.

There were other strong performances from local schools, with Alexandria's Christie Park Primary finishing as runner-up in the 'Medium School' category behind Edinbarnet Primary, and Gartocharn Primary finished third in the 'Small School' category, with Levenvale Primary winning in that category.

Councillor Jim Finn, Chairman of West Dunbartonshire Leisure, said: “As a Council we are absolutely determined to continue to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle in our residents from an early age, and the Active Schools team do a great job on this front.

"The awards ceremony was a wonderful way to announce the results ahead of the end of the school year and I congratulate the winners, as well as every child who took part.”

The School Games are a school sport initiative created as part of the Council's legacy plan following the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and focuses on the key aims of increasing the profile of school sport in West Dunbartonshire; encouraging and inspiring more young people to participate in sport; and leave a lasting legacy of school sport competition.