HEREFORD schoolchildren have cast a critical eye over the shortlist for the Royal Society’s Junior Prize for Science books.

Pupils from Broadlands Primary School joined more than 1,000 schoolchildren across the UK in helping to choose a winning science book.

Morgan Workman, a pupil at the school, said: “We really enjoyed reading all the books because they were so interesting.

“It was difficult to choose a winner and we each had our favourites but working in a group gave all of us the chance to say what we thought. Then we agreed on the one that we liked best.”

Previous winners have included Can you feel the force? by Richard Hammond, The Global Garden by Kate Petty, Jennie Maizels and Corina Fletcher (2006) and Really Rotten Experiments by Nick Arnold & Tony De Saulles (2004).

The winning author receives £10,000 and shortlisted authors receive £1,000.