WHEN I was invited to talk to children at West Heslerton Church of England primary school about journalism, I wasn't prepared for one of their first questions, which found me having to make a somewhat embarrassing confession.

Why, asked the little delightful long-haired blonde girl at the back of the class, did I become a journalist? Of course I gave the genuine reply, that I enjoy meeting people and the variety of situations in which I find myself each day.

But I quickly realised from her response that that wasn't going to satisfy her curiosity. So I had to admit that English, in its various forms, was the only subject in which I really shone at school (along with drama, which earned me a few parts in productions).

The smart, relatively new school on the edge of West Heslerton serves a catalogue of local villages and outlying Wolds farms, and many of its 70 pupils come from outside its catchment area, underlining its high standards of education and friendly and caring atmosphere. So the children themselves set about a writing exercise saying what they liked about the school.

Holly Blyth, aged nine, said: "We have a great headteacher, Mrs Wells, and a wonderful school cook, Mrs Stones. We have an excellent school playground, and dinner ladies who look after us at lunchtime and we have some super helpers in all our classes."

There was praise, too, for the school's "careful" bus drivers.

Joanna Booker, eight, described how 11 subjects are taught in school by its four teachers and head.

Mrs Stones came in for more praise, especially for her oatie and chocolate biscuits.

Becky Munro, seven, says the children are well-educated at Heslerton, and one of the highlights of the week is the Friday assembly with parents when they show off their work.

Zoe Mitchell, eight, like many of the pupils, is looking forward to the return of Mrs Woodward, who left school to have a baby, but equally wants her stand-in, Mrs Metcalfe, to stay.

For nine-year-old Daniel Baines, the school football team, of which he is a member, is one of the biggest assets. The children are also encouraged to go swimming and play cricket, he said.

Eight-year-olds Andy Park and Frankie Beal are equally keen on soccer, and are members of the benchball team.

For Katie Burns, eight, playing the recorder is one of her main interests, as well as such activities as fun-fit.

Marianne Parrott, eight, lives in the village of West Lutton, which she says is quiet, with little traffic, and has a church where the bells are rung each morning.

"Each night, a sparrow used to sing goodnight to our village. A sparrowhawk killed it, so now a thrush sings!"

Hollie Stones, nine, loves the quiet of East Heslerton. "In the countryside, it has lots of nature and animals. I have one dog, three rabbits and eight fish."

Jade Dukes, nine, recalls how in his village of Yedingham, a crash last year resulted in the community having its electricity supply cut off, with the exception of one house, whose occupants supplied everyone else with hot drinks.

Kirsty Martinson, eight, lives in West Heslerton, which is home to most of her friends. "It's a peaceful place," she says. "It has a pub, The Dawnay Arms, a post office, and sweet shop."

Design technology (DT) is the favourite subject of Emily Molloy, nine. "We design things, make them move and slide. We are now making a pop-up book based on King Henry VIII and his wives."

Kate Ferguson, eight and Alison Milner, seven, say Heslerton's music lessons - recorders, flute and guitar - are popular. "Pupils enjoy playing instruments in school," they say.

Joseph White, eight, is an expert in DT, and was one of several pupils to have recently made hand puppets and torches.

Jordan Mallon, seven, enjoys the village life at Sherburn, especially its play park, while Sam Morley, seven, says: "I like numeracy, literacy, science, DT and history."

Playground activities rank highly for Jason Headley, seven, Jack Naylor, six, and Jonathan Duff, eight, as they do for Emily Manning, eight, who enjoys the hoops and skipping, but, she adds: "We are not allowed to climb the trees!"

Shannon Baines, nine, explained how the older children look after the smaller ones, and Vicky Greenwell, seven, likes the school's information technology unit, especially when they can play games.

It's a favourite, too, of Jennifer Martinson, seven, who points out that a number of the children are experts in Paint and Wordpad, Notepad and Zig-Zag on the computers.

At the end of our two hours, I came to the conclusion that the future of journalism is in good hands, at least if the inquiring minds and excellent standard of English of the youngsters of Heslerton's splendid school are the yardsticks.

Updated: 11:24 Wednesday, April 21, 2004