Thames Ditton Junior School pupils have been conducting their own hands-on research into the health and biodiversity of Littleworth Ponds.

The project is being led by Jonathan Holmes, professor of physical geography at University College London, and aims to study the ponds over a four-year period.

The school received a prestigious partnership grant from the Royal Society for the science project, Detecting Changes in Local Ponds.

Project co-organiser Nan Davies said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to bring to life what pupils have been learning in the classroom.

“The children have really enjoyed the challenge of carefully observing and recording information in the field using scientific equipment to make measurements in the laboratory, and interpreting data and, of course, the excitement of discovering all the amazing creatures living in our local ponds.”

The pupils will visit the ponds on a seasonal basis to record their findings.

Any changes in the health of the pond will be detected and they will be monitoring any deterioration that might occur.

The grant has allowed the school to purchase data loggers to record water temperatures as well as a binocular microscope for the children to observe and identify the various species they stumble upon.