The Queen met P6 pupils from Gorbals’ Blackfriars Primary at the opening of the refurbished Kelvingrove, after they came first in the Museums Art Competition.

The class took the top spot in the contest, open to all Scottish schools, after designing a clock inspired by a visit to the Glasgow Transport Museum. They also scooped the Robert Logan Award for the most creative group entry. As well as receiving a gold medal on a separate visit to the museum and having their winning clock displayed in Kelvingrove, the students’ success got them an invite to meet HRH Queen Elizabeth.

The children were individually introduced to the Queen and chatted with her about the Egyptian artifacts they were holding. The Queen’s favourite item was the scarab beetle.

Blackfriars pupil Paul Craig (pictured above shaking hands with the Queen) said, ‘We were nervous before she came in but she was very smiley and relaxed.’

Fellow pupil Jamie-Lee Shields added, ‘The Queen was very nice. She was wearing gloves but so were we, because the fragile objects we were holding were 3,000 years old. We got to keep the gloves as a souvenir.’

The pupils spent months designing their winning clock for the competition which attracted 3000 entries. Head Teacher John Lawson said, ‘I put their success down to one thing - it’s all their own work. After being given the basics of their design task, they made all their own decisions and I let them learn from their own mistakes.’