Three Oxford schoolchildren have taken their places in the infamous black chair to compete for the title of Junior Mastermind.

Linden Goff, Miriam Goodall and Jonathan Webster, all 11, will appear in the new series of the quiz show, hosted by John Humphrys.

The show has the same format as the adult series, with contestants given two minutes to answer questions on their chosen subject and two minutes on general knowledge.

Linden, who goes to Headington School, chose sharks as her specialist subject, while Magdalen College School pupil Jonathan answered questions on the life and career of the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Miriam, from Wychwood School, chose to be grilled on British Olympic gold medallists 1948-2000.

Linden, who lives in Oxford with her parents Valerie and Ray, appears on the first show of the series on Monday, August 30.

She said: "Sharks are my favourite animals.

"They are very interesting but they get bad publicity from films like Jaws.

"Only 10 per cent of species have ever attacked a human.

"I had watched the adult version of Mastermind and it was quite a shock when I found out I was going on it.

"I was quite nervous as well, but it was fun and challenging."

Miriam appears on Thursday, September 2, when she tells John Humphrys about her ambition to be Chancellor of the Exchequer and her plans to put more tax on petrol and create wind farms.

Jonathan, who lives in Headington, Oxford, with his parents John and Premila, will appear on the last show in the series on September 3.

He said: "I chose Sachin Tendulkar because I really like cricket and we had just come back from India.

"He's also a very good idol because he plays very good cricket and he's been playing very good cricket since he was very young.

"It was slightly scary but the chair is actually quite comfy and John Humphrys was nice."

The shows are broadcast on BBC1 at 7pm and the final will take place on Saturday, September 4.