COATES Primary School pupils built and launched rockets on a special science themed day.

Each class took part in a variety of exercises and visited an inflatable planetarium where they were given a talk about astronomy.

The day was organised to help the children get to grips with science in a hands on way.

Joanne Tomlins, headteacher, was thrilled with how it unfolded.

She said: “Everyone has got into the spirit of things with many staff and pupils dressing up as mad scientists.

“It’s days like this that you remember long after you’ve left school.

“We’ve had a great time and allowing the children to get involved in science makes it real for them, giving them a proper understanding of how things work.”

His enthusiasm for the day was shared by Olivia Townsend, a year 5 student.

She said: “Today has been brilliant. The best bit was going into the planetarium.

“The lights were switched off and you could see all the different planets and stars.

“We made some rockets too and fired them down the corridor; luckily we didn’t smash anything!”