Mosaic gifted to King Charles by pupils of Crossroads Primary in Dunnet
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A Caithness primary school that receives a Christmas cake every year from the king has given a gift of its own to the monarch to mark his coronation.
Pupils of Crossroads Primary School and Scallywags Early Learning Centre created a mosaic to mark the occasion. The children have been learning all about the coronation and the monarchy, along with the role that the Castle of Mey has played in shaping Caithness history.
The mosaic has now been presented to the Castle of Mey for safekeeping until King Charles's next visit.
Head teacher Pauline Pearson said: "Our school has always been very grateful every Christmas for its cake from HRH King Charles and as it was his special day recently we wanted to give a gift back.
"I'm so very proud of the children's hard work and creativity. They designed the mosaic and wanted to have the crown, the four national flowers and some insects, as King Charles is a known lover of nature.
"We hope that the king and the visitors to the Castle of Mey will enjoy seeing our present."
The cake tradition began with the Queen Mother, as Crossroads was the closest school to her Caithness holiday home at the Castle of Mey, and it was maintained by Prince Charles, who continued it last year as king.
Crossroads pupil Lana (10) said: "I've never made a mosaic before and I liked that we did teamwork and my favourite part was making the daffodil." Reggie (6) said: "I thought it was fun and it took a lot of time to make, my favourite bit was the crown as it sparkles."
The tiles were donated by the local community who handed in their odd tiles, offering a novel way of reusing them. The white of the Tudor rose and the bee's wings came from a plate that was accidentally dropped by one of the nursery children.
The mosaic was presented to the Castle of Mey staff on the children's school summer trip which included a visit to the castle, animal centre and gardens before having lunch in the tearoom.
