Pupils from nine schools will have the sea brought to life in their classrooms after winning a competition run by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) AND SeaFrance. 

The winning students took up the challenge to create a sea monster from bits of rubbish that would normally be thrown away. The MCS organises Beachwatch every year where thousands of people pick up litter and clean their local beaches.

Children at Murston Junior School in Sittingbourne created Ollie the Octopus. Alicia Adams, Skye Kerr and Lauren Bennnet, who made the sea monster, said: “We think that litter on beaches is very bad. It can harm animals. It doesn’t look very nice and it makes us feel sad. It’s not nice finding rubbish in the sand when you are trying to make sandcastles. We all recycle at home and school and we think everyone else should.”

The winning schools will be visited buy the MCS Cool Seas Roadshow. Kat Stephenson from MCS says: “It brings life-size inflatable models of sharks, minke whales and dolphins into the school to show pupils just how cool our UK seas are.”