Pupils and parents from a Govan primary school will be the first to participate in a family learning project courtesy of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).

Fun after-school arts sessions at Copeland Primary School will be led by SPT's poet-in-residence for the Subway, John Rice.

As well as writing and performing their own poetry and stories, parents and pupils will form the first ever Subway Moles group.

The Subway Moles - an idea created by John Rice - involves poetry and writing activities on a Subway train, during a trip round the circular SPT system.

To launch this exciting after-school project John visited Copeland Primary and was delighted to learn pupils had already been hard at work penning poems and stories.

John said: "The children are very talented and the school has excellent staff who have done a wonderful job encouraging the children.

"This first day was all about meeting pupils and gaining their trust. In the after-school classes, which start next week, the children and adults will devise and perform their own work. This will culminate with a showcase in front of the whole school.

"Creative education like this is very important to a child's development and future career. People in the workplace are expected to be creative - and there's no better place to start than with our own language."

Head teacher Sandy McArthur added: "We are indebted to the Scottish Arts Council and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport who have made the services of John Rice available to us.

"The children have gained greatly from John's input, becoming inspired and motivated to produce writing of real quality. The plan to have families working together on writing projects is really exciting and will do much to further develop the skills of our young people."

During the visit John performed poetry, song and comedy for the children - encouraging them to join in as much as possible.

Among the audience was 11-year-old Darren Basnett from Priesthill, who has already impressed John with his linguistic talents.

Darren said: "I enjoyed John's show and will now practice my poetry more. I would like to be a performer because I enjoy making other pupils at school laugh."

Classmate Zahra Khan aged 11 from Ibrox added: "I used to think poetry was quite boring but John made it really fun. I especially liked his funny poems and acting. It has made me want to try storytelling."

Last Friday's visit and the subsequent family workshops - which begin on 13 November - are part of John's ongoing programme to engage children from schools near SPT Subway stations in the arts of reading, writing, storytelling and performance.

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