IN A nod to The Great British Bake-Off, pupils at a Mole Valley school took part in an exciting baking battle last week.
Inspired by the hit BBC programme, the baking contest at Box Hill School gave budding student bakers the chance to show off their skills by creating a variety of spectacular sweet dishes using themes including Hallowe'en, Christmas and animals.
Year 10 pupils Hayley Worboys, Ellie Thorn and Marcia Sumbe were crowned champions after making chocolate éclairs during the 90-minute final last Wednesday.
The Mickleham school's executive chef Des del Frate and head chef Ben Gardiner assessed the results on appearance, taste, technical ability and effort.
Teacher Alison van Staden, who came up with the idea for the competition, said: "Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood's passion for baking inspired us to encourage students to have a go at mastering a new skill.
"As a result, we've uncovered some really innovative amateur cooks who have enthusiastically embraced the spirit of the competition and the art of baking.
"Over the past few weeks we've tasted some fantastic cakes and been amazed with the pupils' decorating talents. The final bake-off was particularly tense and very closely fought.
"Judges Des del Frate and Ben Gardiner carefully checked the finalists' bakes for the infamous technical features of 'crumb structure' and 'soggy bottoms', and judged Hayley, Ellie and Marcia to have produced the best éclairs."
