More than 700 children reeled and jigged across Glasgow's Kelvin Hall arena at the Scottish Dance Primary Festival yesterday.

The event brought together pupils from 49 primary schools across the city to celebrate their dancing skills.

Traditional dances performed by the eight to 11-year-olds included The Highland Fair, The Dhoon and The Old Man of Stoor.

The annual festival, organised jointly by Glasgow City Council and the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS), is designed to promote Scottish culture and encourage exercise among the youngsters.

Christine Watson, primary PE manager for Glasgow city, said: "Those involved with the event are extremely enthusiastic. Country dancing is a fantastic form of exercise from an aerobic point of view, but it also involves teamwork and concentration. It is a physically challenging sport and the children love it."

A Grand March around the hall marked the beginning of the festival, accompanied by the Strathclyde Police Pipe Band.

Neva Grant, headmistress of St John Maxwell Primary School, said: "This is the second year running that we've taken part.

"The children really love dancing, and what has surprised me is that the boys are just as keen as the girls."

The children spend six weeks practising the dances before the festival, and are taught the moves by specialist teachers from RSCDS.

John Ferguson, chairman of the Glasgow branch of RSCDS, said he was grateful for the opportunity to teach the city's children how to dance.

He said: "I've been teaching country dancing to children from two primary schools once a week. Sometimes they're not that responsive at first as it's a new language for them to learn. But once they've got in to it and worked out how to move to the music, they absolutely love it."

Bayram Aksu, a festival veteran returning for the second time, said he particularly enjoyed The Highland Fair.

The 11-year-old from St Conval's Primary School said: "It's been really fun today and we trained really hard to learn the dances."