Rishi Sunak has praised the achievement of pupils and staff after a visit to their school.

The Richmond MP and Prime Minister joined pupils at Mill Hill Primary School, Northallerton, to congratulate them on winning a prestigious trophy and to join in classroom activities.

He met two pupils who were part of the school group which won a Yorkshire schools competition run by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society for the Best Vegetable Box.

Pupils Maddie Brown and Cara Burn explained to Mr Sunak how the project had been started with school’s gardening club growing all the vegetables required for a King’s Coronation celebration menu of Coronation quiche and accompaniments.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Rishi Sunak with Maddie Brown, Cara Burn, Mrs Angela Jones and the Great Yorkshire Show trophy

They also kept a diary of the project which they showed to Mr Sunak along with the silver trophy. The pupils were guided by school staff member Angela Jones.

During his visit Mr Sunak took part in classes where pupils from across the age ranges explored themes such as the home, fashions of the future and cooking.

Mr Sunak said: “It was good fun to take part in these great exercises helping the children use and develop their creativity and skills across a range of activities.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Rishi Sunak with pupils at Mill Hill Primary School, Northallerton

“The school has made great strides forward recently and it was very encouraging to see the pupils so engaged with their classmates and the teaching staff.”

Earlier this year, Mill Hill, which is a member of the Arete Learning Trust, received a "good" Ofsted rating – an improvement on the result of the previous inspection.

Headteacher Rebecca Bainbridge said: “Our creativity sessions are part of our Covid recovery plan for pupils, to get them out of their bubbles, and they have been very successful. It was lovely to see our MP and Prime Minister joining in with the pupils and helping them with their tasks.”