Education Secretary Charles Clarke chatted with pupils as he spent this morning being shown round a Sussex secondary school.

Mr Clarke chose to visit Steyning Grammar in Shooting Field, Steyning, to get an insight into the workings of a successful school.

A school spokeswoman said: "So far he's had a half-hour meeting with our headteacher Peter Senior and the chairman and vice-chairman of governors. They had a private discussion.

"Then he visited the Year 9 technology group. He's now in the library with eight students from Years 7 to 12. They have some questions they want to raise with him."

Mr Clarke was then due to chat with members of staff, visit a new block and watch Year 10 pupils at work on laptop computers The spokesman said: "He seems happy and he's spoken to the children."

Steyning Grammar School is a split-site, voluntary controlled Church of England school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18.

It is a centre of excellence for maths, science and technology and has £1,825-a-term boarding facilities.

Inspectors from the Office for Standards in Education described the school in their last report two years ago as "good" overall, with a high quality of teaching and well-behaved pupils.