The inside of Alverton Day Nursery in Penzance has become a rainbow of colourful characters and scenes since Penwith College students have been on site.

Art and design students from the vocational programmes have been working with the nursery to create a themed room for each of the nursery age groups.

The rooms have been themed as Neverland for the babies and toddlers, with Peter Pan, Wendy, The Lost Boys and Tinkerbell. The two to three-year-olds get scenes of Atlantis, complete with mermaids, divers, shipwrecks and turtles.

The three to four-year-olds have a Wonderland theme with the Cheshire Cat, Alice, White Rabbit and many other storybook characters.

The sensory play area has been themed as Camelot, with a castle, friendly dragon and knights. The nursery corridors feature a friendly looking giant next to his beanstalk, the Gruffalo and many other characters from books children are familiar know.

The Dulux Decorator Centre at Longrock donated paint and brushes to support the project, Home Hardware in Penzance sourced paint and other materials at a discounted rate and John Scott, from Leland, loaned a variety of decorating tools and equipment.

Simon Hartles, head of vocational art at Penwith College, said: “This project really grabbed the attention of the students as it is fun, hands on, a blank canvas and they have had instant feedback from the children.

“It was a big project to complete within the two-week window, but with the support of Martin Tucker, college director, the timetable was suspended for two weeks allowing the students to really get stuck in and with amazing results.”

Angela Ellis, nursery manager, said: “We are thrilled with the designs that the students have come up with and the dedication they have shown to this project.

“The nursery has had a lot of bad luck with vandalism over that past few years and so, as a charity, we have had to channel our resources into replacing damaged toys and play equipment in the outside space.

“We are so grateful to the students and the staff at Penwith College for making our nursery building come alive and helping us to launch our new nursery name - Once Upon A Time.”