SOME of their work may bear more resemblance to Picasso than Leonardo, but the likenesses in these young artists’ self-portraits are clear to see.

Children aged between two and five at at Polstead Preschool, north Oxford, showed off their creative skills by painting pictures of themselves for an exhibition – with parents challenged to pick out their children's pictures to buy, to raise funds for new equipment.

The preschool, in Polstead Road, has 30 children and prides itself on its diversity – with youngsters coming from as far afield as Syria, Chile, Korea and Japan.

Deputy supervisor and equality and diversity coordinator Adriana Hughes said: “As a preschool we are very privileged to have such a diverse group of children. We understand that celebrating our differences are fundamental at this early age to teach respect and tolerance towards people from different parts of the community.

“Activities like this engage children in talking about their own physical differences and also different cultures and religious backgrounds.”

“The self portraits exposition was an ideal opportunity for children to talk about their skin tones, eye colours and hair types. They mixed colours until they were happy with the tone and used mirrors to paint their pictures. The children were delighted with their work, which led to discussions about how we are all different but , in many ways, all the same.”