IT was a whizzpopping, phizz-wizzing day for pupils at one Teesdale primary school as they celebrated the life of the famous children’s author Roald Dahl.

Children at Cockfield Primary School enjoyed a special visit by professional actor, Tony Pedley, who brought his one-man shows A Taste of Dahl and The BFG Storytelling to the school.

Mr Pedley, who starred in the West End stage adaptation of The BFG from 1991 to 2009, performed his part in full costume and used props to bring the book to life.

The children were also allowed to come to school in costumes inspired by Mr Dahl’s stories with everything from Fantastic Mr Fox to high witches making an appearance.

Deputy headteacher, Lyn Boustead, embraced her character as an oompa-loompa and said the children had had a fantastic day.

“I think it’s been an inspiration for our children for their imagination to continue with their passion of books because our ethos at Cockfield Primary is that we want our children to leave with outstanding reading skills,” she said.

“We wanted to inspire and spark that imagination for their creative writing and we’ve found that children learn through having experiences and this brought the book to life.”

Mrs Boustead also praised the parents for their support.

“Our parents are really supportive especially when we have events and the children’s costumes are fantastic.”