Pupils at Bosbury Primary welcomed North Herefordshire MP Bill Wiggin into their school recently, and they took the opportunity to put him on the spot with searching questions, including one about chocolate.

But the impact of budget cuts were also a pressing topic.

Bosbury's School Council also met with Mr Wiggin, who said that his favourite British value was 'tolerance'.

Mr Wiggin said: "Visiting Bosbury was delightful and the behaviour was exemplary. I certainly was asked some interesting questions and pupils had done their research on my voting record. I was impressed with the level of engagement with national issues such as Brexit and the future leadership of the Conservative Party.

"However my favourite question was whether I liked chocolate! I certainly do and enjoyed talking about Cadbury's facility on the edge of Leominster."

Discussing budget cuts, he added: "I understand the challenges of a tight school budget and think the staff and governors at Bosbury are doing an excellent job."

The Chair of Governors, Emma Smith took Mr Wiggin on a tour of the school "to show how difficult budget cuts have made running the school".

Teachers and teaching assistants, as well as pupils were able to highlight how they had been impacted.

Mrs Smith said: "Budget cuts are hitting all schools hard and Bosbury is no different. We have had to cut teacher assistant hours already and from September support staff cuts are even more severe. Showing this in practise and how hard staff work to maintain outstanding educational standards was very important and we look forward to working with Mr Wiggin moving forward to highlight this reality."

Head teacher Miss Maggie Spence added: "We are very grateful Mr Wiggin visited our school and listened to our concerns about budget cuts.

"It was a fantastic opportunity for the children to hear about British values, understand how Parliament works and also what skills you need to be an MP - we are very pleased Bill has offered to come back again in September to meet with the school Council."