BUDDING science students at a Moreton school got to grips with biodiversity when they were given the chance to work with London's Natural History Museum.

The pupils, from Kitebrook House school, spent time with scientists during a week long residential to the Cothill Educational Trust's field study centre in Dorset, of which the school is a member.

During the week students from Year 6 and 7 at the school worked with an arm of the Museum's Angela Marmont Centre, which specialises in UK biodiversity.

The course looked at lichens, with pupils working alongside a leading lichenologist learning how to identify different species.

The children carried out surveys to look at habitats and distribution as well as extracting DNA from samples they collected.

The results of their studies will be added to the museum’s database, which is accessible to scientists from around the world.