Gill Ellyard, Headteacher said: “Not all of our children have had the opportunity to visit the animals at Whipsnade so we decided that the whole school would become involved with the zoo’s Discovery Adoption programme. All children voted on which animals they wanted to select and the 10 most popular were chosen with each class now having their own animal.”

The whole school, almost 300 pupils, went to Whipsnade to see their own animals and the rest of the zoo. The children watched the lounging lemurs on Lemur Island; gasped with amazement as a falcon swooped over their heads; and got soaked by the antics of Berkley the sea lion.

Mrs Ellyard added: “The children had a wonderful time and we were so lucky with the weather! I’d like to thank Whipsnade and Christine Drabwell in particular for their help in making it such a memorable day for the children.”

Animals adopted are: Early Years – a baby elephant and pony; Year 1 – a lion and tiger; Year 2 – a giraffe and reindeer; Year 3 – a donkey and sea lion; Year 4 – a chimpanzee and red panda.