GIRLS from a Tiverton Primary School travelled to Gloucestershire to take part in a science day at Westonbirt School.

83 year five girls from 16 schools took part in the event, which is designed to encourage girls to carry on their studies of science and design technology.

Among the schools taking part in a variety of workshops was Blundell's Preparatory School, Tiverton.

In the artificial Intelligence workshop the children used Hexbugs, micro robotic creatures, to investigate simple robots and wonder about the increased usefulness of robots in people's lives.

The girls also learned about space, the development of neuroscience and the need for renewable energy sources.

Year 10 students from Westonbirt supported the teachers with the workshops.

Westonbirt head teacher Natasha Dangerfield, said: “The objective of the day is to maintain the girls' curiosity about the world around them.

“We want to encourage the girls to see science as a human endeavour that has spanned centuries and that one day they could be one of the people who takes science in a new direction.”