GCSE art students have been awarded for their fantastic work showing Emotional Health at an annual arts exhibition.

Students from St Helens Council’s Tuition Service shared their amazing work aimed at being an Emotionally Healthy School, with parents, pupil’s external agencies, and the mayor and mayoress of St Helens Cllr Joe Pearson and wife Sylvia.

New to this year’s exhibition was the introduction of awards – sponsored by Commercial LED Lighting, owned by the parents of a former pupil at Tuition - to recognise pupils who had utilised art to support their own emotional health.

Paying tribute to Tuition for supporting his daughter Olivia during her time at the service, Bill Parr from LED Commercial Lighting said: "Words alone could not describe the help and support the staff at Tuition gave my daughter, both while she was at school and since leaving to go to college.

“The staff here always go above and beyond to support their students and without them I know my daughter wouldn't be where she is now.

“The staff are regularly prepared to give up their own time during holidays and weekends to support pupils struggling with crippling anxiety.

"They are a credit to the council and a credit to themselves, so when I heard they were looking for a sponsor for the awards I didn't have a second thought."

Councillor Joe Pearson was on hand to present winners Andrew Duckworth, Jordon Jones and Tia Baker-Wilson, all 16, with their trophies named after world-famous artists.

Andrew was awarded the Van Gogh Award for the most improved artist, Tia, who described art as a way of helping her create her own world within a canvas, scooped the Banksy Award for most creative independence – while Jordon picked up the Picasso Award for perseverance.

Earlier this year, the Tuition Service – which provides a calm and nurturing environment to help pupils with complex or medical needs return to mainstream provision - showed its commitment to raising mental health and wellbeing awareness by becoming an ‘emotionally healthy’ school.

The St Helens Emotionally Healthy Schools Project, supported by St Helens Council and NHS St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group, has been introduced as part of the Local Transformation Plan for Children’s Mental Health services.