YOUNGSTERS discovered what they were made of when they visited a secondary school.

Year Six pupils from Chickerell Primary Academy visited Budmouth College to learn about DNA and find out what really goes in to fish fingers.

Dr David Stone, a molecular virologist at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), was also on hand to give advice.

He said: “I have three children at Budmouth so I was more than happy to come along and help.

“It’s obviously very topical at the moment so it seemed like a good idea to combine an investigation into what sort of fish is in the food with a lesson about DNA.”

Dr Stone added: “I was really impressed with how much the kids knew already.”

The pupils first used kiwis to practice separating the DNA before moving onto fish they had brought in from home.

Sixth formers at Budmouth later analysed the DNA and reported the results back to the class.

Science teacher Dan Light said: “There’s something called Cobbler, which is like a cat fish, and used in a lot of fish products which describe their content as ‘white fish’.

“There’s nothing wrong with eating it, but it’s quite interesting to see what we will find with the results.”

Mr Light, who with other Budmouth teachers has been working with Chickerell Primary pupils to ease the transition for the year six pupils, added: “Projects like this, which is taking place at Budmouth, are great, as it makes them feel more prepared and confident when they start in September.

“They have really enjoyed it so far.”

The project included a number of other subjects, including technology and geography, as the pupils got to grips with the subject across the curriculum.

As well as extracting the DNA, the youngsters were given a geography lesson on where the fish comes from and got the opportunity to cook and taste the fish.