PRIMARY school pupils were transported back to Victorian times during a project yesterday.

Twenty of the children, aged between nine and 11, at Sherburn Hill Primary School, along with their teachers, dressed in period costumes to savour the days of Upstairs, Downstairs.

As part of its timetable, the school is studying the Victorian lifestyle and to help them in their venture, members of the Curriculum Kitchen group visited the school.

The pupils taking part revelled in the day and helped prepare a Victorian high tea.

They also learned of the wide divide between the rich and poor and were tutored in the Victorian values of good manners and personal hygiene.

"The children learned how these values are still important today,'' said deputy headteacher Anita Boyd.

The pupils, she said, had thoroughly enjoyed turning back the clock, adding: "They absolutely loved it and were so excited about the whole project."