A NEWPORT primary school teacher has been selected to join an elite judging panel alongside longest serving female Blue Peter presenter, Konnie Huq.

Gail Eagar, a special educational needs co-ordinator and science advisor at Barton Primary School, has been called upon to judge for the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2020.

Author-illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon books, Cressida Cowell, and former Blue Peter presenter turned children’s writer, Konnie Huq, are among those to join Gail on the panel.

The judges will comb through this year’s submissions of children’s science books, trimming and curating a stellar shortlist.

They will then handover to the prize’s ultimate arbiters ­— thousands of school children from across the UK.

"I was delighted to be picked for this panel along with some very interesting people," said Gail.

"Some of the books will be donated to the Barton Primary School library, and the rest will be awarded as prizes for science competitions at Barton."

Gail, who has been a primary school teacher for 16 years, was awarded the Primary Science Teaching Trust's primary science teacher of the year award in 2014.

She also volunteers with her husband for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, which is currently working on the Secrets of the Solent initiative.

She loves teaching science, and has managed to marry both her roles in school by carrying out a biodiversity project funded by the Royal Society.

The Young People's Book Prize aims to promote literacy in young people and inspire them to read about science, all the while promoting the writing of comprehensive, accessible STEM books for under-14s.