TOMORROW'S A-level results day will highlight the intelligence of young people across West Oxfordshire, but Witney MP Robert Courts has been encouraging schoolchildren to showcase their photography skills.

These eight pictures are the winning entries for Mr Courts' West Oxfordshire Schools Photography Competition, which was open to all pupils in the district.

Oxford Mail:

Four categories - architecture and history, people and communities, nature and wildlife and abstract - were designed to encourage budding photographers to capture the unique beauty of West Oxfordshire.

These categories were then divided into four age groups, alongside an overall winner for each age group.

Several photographs caught the eye, for example Maurice Reinhard's twilight shot of St Mary's Church in Witney, or Fred Bradley's close-up effort of a flock of sheep.

The abstract categories revealed pupils' creative eye, with Freddie Moreton and Lucy Cooper both producing pictures that would not look out of place in a gallery.

Oxford Mail:

Above all, the photos showed West Oxfordshire's natural beauty all year round, with as many warm summer days as cold winter mornings.

Mr Courts received more than 200 entries with many a very high standard, which he revealed made it very difficult to choose the winners.

He said: “I would like to thank everyone who took part, and the standard of competition was extremely high.

"I was very impressed with the talent on display, as well as the interesting interpretations of each category, and I think that the spirit of West Oxfordshire was certainly captured.

Oxford Mail:

“I hope that the winners and their families enjoyed their visit to Parliament, and I will proudly display the winning entries so that everyone can see the unique beauty of West Oxfordshire.”

The Witney MP invited the winners and their parents for a personal tour of Parliament just before the Summer Recess break.

The winning entries will be displayed in Mr Courts’s Witney and Westminster offices, and on Robert’s website at robertcourts.co.uk.