DUMBARTON and Vale schools are being urged to sign up for a new ScottishPower initiative aimed at encouraging the use of music or language to explore important themes and aspects of society.

In association with the National Theatre of Scotland, the Power Rap competition invites secondary schools and community groups to write a poem or compose a rap on something they are passionate about.

The competition is designed to support Glasgow Girls, a new National Theatre of Scotland production, sponsored by ScottishPower, which will run at the Citizens Theatre later this year.

The play is based on a true story of a powerful pro-asylum seeker campaign by the real-life Glasgow Girls who fought to stop their friend being deported to her war-torn country.

And ScottishPower is offering participants the opportunity to compete for the unique experience of receiving a masterclass from professional Rap Artist Darren McGarvey, aka Rapper MC Loki, to help inspire pupils to use rapping as a medium for discussion.

Ann Loughrey, head of corporate social responsibility at ScottishPower, said: "The ScottishPower Power Rap initiative will encourage schools and community groups to engage pupils through music and language in order to stimulate discussion around some important issues in today's society.

"Glasgow Girls will bring to the forefront the subject of multiculturalism, providing an important forum for debate, and we are pleased to be supporting the National Theatre of Scotland." The winning group will have their rap filmed by the National Theatre of Scotland's in-house film crew and appear on the National Theatre of Scotland website and entrants will also be battling it out to secure tickets to a special performance of Glasgow Girls on Saturday, November 3.

Elly Rothnie, director of development at National Theatre of Scotland, added: "Glasgow Girls will tell one of the most inspiring stories to come out of Scotland in recent years, and we're hoping that in turn the ScottishPower Power Rap competition will inspire young people from across Glasgow to tell us their own stories about their lives now.

"It's terrific that ScottishPower has been able to offer our young people this opportunity and we can't wait for the entries to start coming in!" The deadline for registering an interest in the competition is Friday, September 7 and the closing date for entries is Friday, September 21.

All registrations and entries should be emailed to scottishpowercompetition@bigpartnership.co.uk or posted to Glasgow Girls initiative, The BIG Partnership, 5 Park Circus Place, Glasgow, G3 6AH.

Entries can be in a written, CD recording or sound file format.