Providers of youth activities in multicultural parts of the county have collected awards voted for by the children they serve.

The Equality and Diversity awards, which honour schools, youth clubs and community groups, saw eight winners walk away with £200 each.

The ceremony, organised by Oxfordshire County Council, was held at The King's Centre, in Osney Mead, Oxford.

Judging was carried out by a panel of children from a number of different communities, who set the awards' criteria themselves.

Among the winners was Larkrise Primary School, in Boundary Brook Road, East Oxford, which was praised for its partnership with a school in Africa.

Teacher Ed Finch said: "We have very strong links with a school in Uganda, which were set up three years ago.

"Myself and four colleagues were over there during half-term and their headteacher has come over to visit our school.

"The contact is on a staff-to-staff level, which then feeds down to the children. We have taught the children in Uganda to sing our school song and we have CDs of their school choir, which we're selling.

"Our children also bought them a cow, after raising about £300 by selling recycled Christmas cards and fairy cakes they had made.

"The Ugandan school is now using it to raise money, by selling its milk.

"We are a very diverse school, with 60 per cent of our pupils having English as an additional language, and more than 20 home languages represented.

"At a school like ours, where the children are not all British and do not share one national identity, it's important to look more widely to give them a sense of identity."

Among the other winners, the Matrix - a group working with young people in North Oxford, Cumnor and Botley - was praised for its Indian Day and Jamaican Day initiatives.

The African Caribbean Youth Project, in East Oxford, was commended for its Young Roots project, which asked second-generation immigrants about their experiences of Oxford.

Janet Tomlinson, the council's head of education, said: "Ofsted inspectors have praised the way Oxfordshire County Council involves and consults children before making decisions."

The award winners were: Larkrise Primary School, Littlemore Playgroup and New Hinksey Primary School in Oxford, East Oxford's African Caribbean Youth Project, Matrix, Banbury School sixth-form and Fitzwaryn School, Wantage.