SEE the world through the eyes of a nine-year-old.

That was the offer when Wantage Rotary Club exhibited the winners of photography and poetry competitions it ran for local schoolchildren.

The young poet competition has run for several years and attracted a high number of entries but judges said they were 'very impressed' with this year's standard.

Responding to the theme of 'springtime', the winner in the over-nine age category was Caitlin Gibbons of St James School, East Hanney.

Her verse, entitled Spring is Here, envisioned 'the small little pebble seeds... bursting through the dead earth in a colourful rainbow carpet'.

The under-nine section was won by Samuel Shewring of St Nicholas School, East Challow.

They each received a book voucher for £30 and their schools received a trophy and a £100 cash prize.

The runners-up each received a book voucher for £20.

The young photographer competition, meanwhile, was in its first year but was equally successful, attracting 24 entries on a theme of 'reflection'.

The winner in the junior category was Faith Merry, of the Hendreds Primary School.

She took a series of photographs of her guinea pig Freckle stood on top of a mirror on their garden, with a tree reflected in the background so it looked almost as if Freckle was soaring through the sky.

Faith, who is nine, said: "What I love about one of the photos is that she looks like she is floating in mid air.

"I also like seeing her white whiskers against her black face and the reflection of her double chin and mouth."

Ella Clark, a Year 8 pupil at King Alfred's Academy in Wantage, was victorious in the intermediate section, with three photographs shot around the town: the parish church reflected in the window of the Swan pub; a coke can floating in a muddy puddle and a trio of crimson candles reflected in a glass surface.

Senior group winner Emily Brown, a Year 10 pupil at King Alfred's, met the brief by taking a mirror with her to some unlikely places – an unsightly patch of brown weeds by the river, a wire fence and a graveyard.

In each location, she used the mirror to reflect a contrasting view just out of shot.

Faith, Ella and Emily all received certificates and a £20 gift voucher. Certificates were also presented to the youngsters who came second and third in each category.

The winning photographers had their works displayed in the Vale and Downland Museum, where rotary club president Spencer Clubb presented their prizes.

He said: "Wantage Rotary Club was delighted with the quality and quantity of the entries in both competitions."