PUPILS from a school near Bromyard are close to becoming the best young journalists in Britain.

Bredenbury Primary School received a distinction - the highest mark possible - for its efforts in the Times Educational Supplement "Newsday" contest which took place in March.

Along with around 25 schools from across the country which received the same mark, the school is now in the running to be named best in the competition.

Prizes include personal computers and digital cameras

As part of the competition, which was entered by around 1,000 schools, pupils had to write, edit and print an eight-page newspaper which included reports on local issues, sport and the environment.

Headteacher Steven Brennan-White said: "This is quite a small school and the quality of the final product was excellent.

"The attention to detail was very high - every sheet had a page number and there was even a bar code."

Some of the 35 pupils who took part from the school will travel to the Houses of Parliament early next month for the announcement of the results.