Prince Edward laughed and joked with pupils from all over Oxfordshire when he visited Larkmead School in Abingdon yesterday.

He found out how the schools were taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and saw 10 Larkmead pupils get their bronze awards.

The Earl of Wessex spoke to students from a number of schools, including St Helen's and St Katherine's School, in Abingdon, Lord Williams's School, from Thame, and Abingdon School.

They showed him what they had achieved through the scheme and described the skills they had gained.

He watched as pupils from Northfield School, in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, including Jacob Powney, 15, David Carron, 14, and James Boyles, 15, demonstrated emergency first aid skills.

Pupils Ashley Cooper, 14, and Luke Pill, 16, also demonstrated using different sorts of bandages.

Ashley said: "He watched us and was very nice and was interested in what we were doing."

Bronze award winner Laura Chambers, 14, said: "He was nice and seemed really interested in us."