Schools have been invited to take part in a challenge to commemorate the centenary anniversary of women getting the vote.

Organised by Waveney District councillors Louise Gooch, Tess Gandy, and Caroline Topping, schools in Waveney are being encouraged to produce pieces of work that explore, commemorate and celebrate the Representation of the People Act which saw the first women get the right to vote.

Pupils are being asked to create a poem, play script, photograph, art work, speech, and any other cultural artefact that could be displayed and/or performed at the event.

A prize will be available for the best entry from each school with a prize for the overall winner for Waveney.

The challenge is open to all high schools and colleges in Waveney plus East Norfolk Sixth Form College, with closing date for entries on Friday, October 19.

The celebrations of the centenary are due to take place on Saturday, October 27 at the United Reformed Church in Lowestoft.

Councillor Louise Gooch said the project is designed to engage young people in what it means to have the vote.

She said: 'The main aim is to have young people engaging with the idea of being able to vote in whatever way they would like, whether it be poetry, photography, textiles, as indeed the original campaign was.

'It was a multifaceted campaign with tapestries, embroideries and banners, they did everything to raise the profile of working class people to have the vote, to extend the franchise to both men and women.'

Councillor Tess Gandy added: 'Our focus from a Waveney District Council basis is to be an educational angle so we can engage with a lot of the schools and it is about trying to get young people to appreciate the importance of what that movement meant, not just for women but for men as well.

'We want it to be community focused across the whole of Waveney not just Lowestoft, there is quite a lot going on in Beccles, so it should be a really interesting time in October.'

For more information, contact Louise Gooch, Tess Gandy, Caroline Topping or Waveney District Council's head of communities Nicole Rickard.