STUDENTS from two secondary schools have teamed up with the town council in a bid to eliminate graffiti and litter in the town.

Pupils from St Crispin's School, in London Road, and Emmbrook School, in Emmbrook Road, have taken up a new initiative to design and deliver their own projects to keep the new town centre pristine and free from unsightly graffiti and trash.

Wokingham Town Council (WTC) is providing prize funds for the best project, with team and individual awards for students nominated within their teams.

Each of the projects will be judged by the town council in October, taking into account project management, individual and team contribution, design, innovation, and how the students embrace available resources while keeping in mind the target audience.

The winning projects will take home the gold prize of £1,000, with £500 awarded for the silver prize.

Cllr Lynn Forbes, who chairs the Town Council Graffiti Working Party, said: "The best thing about this project is that students across both schools are engaging on the topic of graffiti and litter. The youth of today are the adults of tomorrow, and it is so worthwhile to start the conversation today to ensure that the town remains a clean and wonderful place to be proud of in the future.

"The students have been so creative, going in different directions to solve the problem and embracing technology to communicate the message.

"School staff have really engaged in the project, helping students employ and learn new project management skills."

Leona Bennets, Student Leadership Coordinator at St Crispin's School said: "The pupils taking part can see the wider picture with regards to graffiti and litter, but the project has opened their eyes to how some people have no respect for their surrounding environment. This is the message they want to get across next year in assemblies, targeting both the school and wider community."

Year seven student Amelia Athey from Emmbrook School said: "Whilst being involved in this project we have learnt a lot of skills like working as part of a team. Our decision making has improved and our confidence has risen.

"We would like all the residents of Wokingham to understand the impact of graffiti and how they can help eradicate it."