Pupils at a village school turned history detectives as they set up their own pop-up museum.

Bere Alston School children aged eight to ten have been studying the history of the village in the classroom and outside school to create their own one-off museum open to the public in the school hall.

The children were inspired by two local historians and were allowed access to the village archives to research aspects that interested them.

They loaned artefacts such as photographs and after researching their favourite subjects, created exhibits with their own written labels for locals, staff and parents to read on their visit.

Subjects included a World War Two daffodil harvest, the local Home Guard, family outings on a motorbike, railways and mining and more than a few snapshots of their forebears’ school life.

Headteacher Gareth Bemister said: “We held our first-ever Bere Alston Museum. Children in Larkin class have studied local history and even had a visit from local historian Clive Charlton who talked to children about several aspects of history.

“Children were also invited by local historian Margaret Patterson to visit the village archives where they found even more historical pictures and documentation.

“They naturally covered the history of the school but also farming, local sports, transport and even mining. They were supplied with lots of historical artefacts and then conducted research to find out more about them, before writing up a description.

“We then presented it all in our very own museum. Apart from the local knowledge the children gained, the disciplinary knowledge that they practised, using the internet, talking to witnesses, identifying reliable resources, was brilliant.

“It was really well-attended by members of the community who were really impressed with the levels of knowledge that the children showed. This all builds towards our core value of being proud of our school and our village.”