Talented pupils felt the heat in the kitchen as they took part in an end of term bake-off competition.

The competition attracted the eight keenest bakers in Princetown Primary School to test their cooking skills against each other.

They also demonstrated organisation, tidiness, cleanliness and how to compete fairly, despite sometimes emotions running high.

The icing on the cake for taking part was a box of chocolates for every cook. But someone had to win and Lilly impressed the judges with her perfectly-baked cinnamon rolls.

Lilly won a coveted chef’s hat to go with her chocolates.

She said: “It was really good fun, but stressful cooking because it was a competition had to make my best rolls for the judges and be the best in the school.

“I do a lot of cooking with my older sister Becky. They were quite hard because I had to roll them with cinnamon filling. It worked very well. I’ve done savoury fillings before. I really enjoy baking. This was my first time in the competition. I’d like to do cooking and arts and crafts when I leave school.”

Grace, ten, made a chocolate Swiss roll for the bake off.

Her mum said: “I’m so proud of Grace, she’s really thrown herself into this and made a big effort. She has got a bit emotional about it, but that’s because she cares about doing everything to her best ability.

“She’s only been here a short time, but the school’s been really good for her self-esteem. She’s gained in self-confidence and is keen to participate, which she wasn’t always keen to before.”

The competition was supported by Yelverton Rotary Club with funding and judging.

Club member Gilly Turley Rogers said: “They all did amazingly well. The judges were impressed by the skills and creativity on display. But Lilly tipped the balance with the technical difficulty of cinnamon rolls and how she overcame them.”

Teacher Laura Taverner said: “The children went above and beyond with their recipes and creativity. We have now done this competition for quite a few years now and the rotary club always say it is one of their favourite.”

The bake off theme was cakes or buns.

April cooked chocolate orange cupcakes. Unfortunately, April broke her wrist just two days before the contest, so needed Harper to help her. Alastair made bundt cake; Benji made gooey chocolate brownies; Maisey created a strawberry sponge; Rosie a cherry cake and Archie a marshmallow and gummy bears chocolate fridge cake.

Laura said: “This event encourages, promotes and combines our curriculum with an everyday life skill, baking.”

Having chosen their recipes and listed their ingredients lists beforehand on the day, the children measured out their ingredients on their own and prepared their creations before baking them in the oven or placing in the fridge, depending on the recipe.

“They carefully plan how their final product will look for judging.

“The process strengthens their independence, understanding of measurements, time management, patience and resilience, added Laura.

The judges were local chef and former Princetown Primary School pupil Mike Palmer and Gilly Turley-Rogers.