Children from a primary schools academy have their eyes on kitchen glory as they prepare to do battle in Masterchef-style contest Young Cooks.

The Village Academy is staging its own Young Cooks heat in an attempt to encourage as many pupils from its six schools as possible to enter the popular kids cookery competition.

Three children from each school will take place in a special heat on May 2.

All of the children will be encouraged to enter the official competition, and the winner of the heat will receive a family ticket to Diggerland.

The trust comprises Dymchurch, Lydd, Lynsted and Norton, Milstead and Frinsted C of E, Petham Primary, and Selling C of E primaries, with the heat taking place at Petham.

Village Academy chief executive officer Hayley Spedding: “We are excited to be chosen to host the first heat of the Young Cooks competition 2019.

“We are committed to seeking out and creating opportunities for our pupils to gain important life skills and have fun along the way.

“Young Cooks supports the educational experiences for our pupils as an important element of our school curriculum.”

Young Cooks is open to children aged 6 to 19 from across the south-east.

Entrants are invited to submit ideas for dishes that are healthy and delicious, and shortlisted finalists will be invited to cook their recipes for a VIP panel at a live Masterchef-style event in November.

The deadline for submitting entries is November 7, and the winners will share £500 in prize money, with separate primary-school, family, secondary-school and overall prizes being handed out.

Young Cooks coordinator Hannah Hawksworth said: “It’s great that the Village Academy has decided to stage this event. This is such a brilliant way to engage children with cooking and the competition.

“And I would urge other schools and children who may be interested in Young Cooks to start thinking about the entry process right now.

“As all cooks will tell you, timing and preparation are everything when it comes to success in the kitchen.

“November may seem a long way off, but entrants need to give themselves plenty of time to research and road-test their recipes.”

Young Cooks is supported by CH & Co Group, SE Medical, Chequers Kitchen, Broadstairs College, Brakes, Golding Homes, Three R's Teacher Recruitment, Southern Co-operative, Kent Catering Services, The Dog at Wingham, Whole School Meals and Taylor Meats.

See www.youngcooks.org.uk for more information.