Budding bakers from across Swindon and Wiltshire recently showcased their culinary talents at Lawn Manor Academy, competing in the highly anticipated Ascend Learning Trust Bake Off.
The event brought together 10 finalists from Years 6 and 7, representing Lawn Manor Academy and Noremarsh Junior School in Swindon, Wellington Lions Primary in Tidworth, Wellington Eagles Primary in Ludgershall, and Royal Wootton Bassett Academy.
After impressing in their school-level heats, the finalists faced two challenging rounds. First, they created their signature dishes, with some pupils ambitiously making fresh pasta from scratch using traditional pasta machines. The technical challenge pushed their skills further, as they attempted to bake a coffee and walnut Battenburg cake – a new and tricky recipe for many of the young competitors.
The coveted title of Star Baker was awarded to Lottie from Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, with Kian from Wellington Lions securing second place.
The event was organised by Sarah Smith, Head of Design and Technology at Lawn Manor Academy. Sarah shared her thoughts on the day: ”
As reigning champions from the last Ascend Learning Trust Bake Off we decided to host the 2025 trust-wide competition. One of the ALT values is belonging and so events like these give us the opportunity for pupils across the Trust to get together and have some fun at the same time.
“For the primary schools especially, it gave them the opportunity to experience cooking in a school cooking room as most don’t have these facilities. The secondary aged pupils also don’t often have the chance to complete more complicated bakes such as this within the timetable. However, it gave all the students a sense of pride representing their school and recognising their talents.”
Sarah also highlighted the importance of developing cooking skills early in life: “With increasingly busy lives we turn more and more to convenience food. These foods are often more expensive than cooking from scratch and have too much salt and sugar. Learning basic cooking skills at school will hopefully promote a love of cooking and give them the skills to cook nutritious more healthy food.”
