A LITTLE of the Sunshine State shone into Bearsted when school pupils linked up with youngsters in Florida for a week of webcast conferences.

Year 6 pupils at Madginford Park Junior School compared notes on school life with their counterparts across the pond.

They spoke to pupils at a school in the Florida town of Davie via a projector screen for an hour every day for a week.

Hot topics for the American youngsters were the Queen and London landmarks, such as the River Thames and Houses of Parliament.

The Maidstone pupils wanted to know about hurricanes and celebrities as well as what the children do in their spare time.

Andy Dodd, teacher and ICT co-ordinator at the school, said: “It took the children a while to get used to the idea they were talking to people in America, but they loved it once they got used to it.

“We had lots of questions about London because it’s the only place in England the American pupils knew."

The school is planning another webcast with the head gardener at Sissinghurst Gardens, near Cranbrook.