A group of school children beat off fierce competition from their fellow pupils to take first prize in an Apprentice-style bake-off contest.

Beccles & Bungay Journal: Year six students from Loddon junior school take part in an apprentice style biscuit making challenge.Year six students from Loddon junior school take part in an apprentice style biscuit making challenge. (Image: © Archant 2015)

The Year 6 pupils at Loddon Junior School have been working in groups on a biscuit challenge where they were tasked with designing, marketing and baking their own biscuits.

Over the weeks, the losing teams were “fired” by their teachers Anne Mitchell and Jem Brereton leaving six groups in the final where the entries were judged by Mark James, a manager at the Morrisons store in Beccles.

Mr James judged the biscuits on taste, texture and appearance, and also the marketing and packaging, and the pitch.

He said: “The school approached us and we were more than happy to get involved.

“We love to go out into the community and like to help out where we can.

“The quality of the biscuits was really good and a lot of effort went into them.”

After much deliberation and tasting, Team Cupcake, made up of Verity Dos Santos, Megan Baldry, Aimee Beevor and Sydney Frost, all aged 11, were named winners for their Seasonal Delights entry - a selection of biscuits including a birthday cake biscuit and valentine’s day heart.

Verity said: “We were really surprised to win, because we came third in the last round.

“We made three batches with 20 to 30 biscuits in each batch.

“We marketed them in a square box and customers could collect the puzzle pieces to win free boxes of biscuits, and if you find the word ‘winner’ at the bottom of the box, you also win a free box.”

Mr James praised the originality of all the entries, including Choccy Chocs which used wheat-free flour in their biscuit and Team Sweet for their original pitch and triangular-shaped box.