Schoolchildren have been put through their paces at RNAS Culdrose with a day of adventure training.

The youngsters from St Erth Community School took part in circuit training before visiting the engineering training section. They were also given a personal tour around the fire station.

Organising the day was school headteacher Nikki Rodgers and class teacher Chris Armstrong, in conjunction with Lieutenant Derek Barr from Culdrose.

Chris said: “We’re extremely grateful to all the staff at the base for organising such a wonderful learning experience for the children.”

The outing combined two class projects: “How food and exercise helps towards a healthy life-style” and “Vehicles and transport”.

Chris added: “The trucks and lorries really fired up the children’s imaginations. It was great to see how a busy air base works on a daily basis.

“You only had to see the smiles on all the children’s faces throughout the day to know how much they were enjoyed every activity.”

Taking the class in the gym was Leading Physical Trainer Leah Ravuoco, who led them through a lesson on exercise techniques and a special circuit training session, which many of the pupils said was great fun – especially how loud Leah’s whistle was.

This was followed by a trip to the air engineering school where they saw the dissected helicopter engines and an array of interactive displays used to teach navy trainees.

However, it was probably the fire station that will be most remembered. Here the children climbed over some of the fire tenders and saw first-hand how a fire is extinguished with water and foam, producing a resounding “wow!” from the children.

Lieutenant Derek Barr, who runs the engineering training school, said: “School visits like this are really important for Culdrose. Children get to see helicopters flying over their playground and gardens every day – it’s important to engage their imaginations and show them close up what we do.”

Following their trip the children sent drawings and letters to Culdrose describing all the things they did and what they enjoyed, writing: “Fire engines, helicopters, jets, gym, circuits, hangars – it was the best school trip ever!”