YOUNGSTERS at St Thomas' CE Primary School in Stockton Heath were top of the crops after helping out with a harvest last Monday.

Children from the school, on Parkgate Road, picked apples from orchards, with English varieties dating back to as far as the 1600s.

The annual event takes place during the harvest festival each year and gives pupils a hands on experience at selecting the highest quality fruit.

The children were joined by teachers and parents to pick the apples and will now shift their attention to turning this year's crop into apple juice.

The juice will then be bottled and sold to raise funds for the next phase of the school's playground development project.

Head teacher Ian Moss praised the children for their efforts and is already looking ahead to next year's event.

St Thomas' is anticipating great demand for the apple juice following the response to last year's batch, which was sold 'really quickly'.