An ear-splitting shouting competition among Didcot primary pupils found the noisiest girl in the school - with a voice as loud as a jet plane taking off.

Year Five pupil Ana Paiva was given the title of best shouter at Ladygrove Park Primary School as part of an exercise to learn about the effects of noise pollution.

Environmental health officers visited the school with a machine to measure noise, finding that pupils could scream up to 120 decibels - the volume of a jet plane taking off, a chainsaw or a pneumatic drill.

They also brought hearing dogs for deaf people to the Know Noise workshop, which was organised to help children avoid hearing damage from MP3 players.

Teacher Neil Brown said: "There were lots of hands-on activities about how to reduce noise levels and the shouting competition, which they really enjoyed.

"It was too close to call whether the boys or the girls were loudest.

"The day made children aware of noise pollution and how their Walkmans could damage their hearing."

Children at the Avon Way school learned about how ears work, watched sound level meters in action and guessed the volume of different sounds.

Clare Kingston, head of environmental services at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: "Noise affects everyone's quality of life. Noise complaints across the UK are at their highest ever levels - last year alone, the council investigated approximately 500 complaints.

"The event we ran at Ladygrove Park Primary School helped to raise awareness of noise in a fun and educational way, and bring home the message of how we can prevent our own noise causing a problem to others.

"Given the huge growth in headphone use, we also want to make sure that all the young people are aware of the potential risks to their hearing from prolonged or inappropriate use."

The events were part of Noise Action week.