YOUNGSTERS at a Mill Hill school have been baffled all week by mysterious alien objects appearing around their new school buildings.
Six strange orbs, which made two teachers' hands tingle, were discovered in the grounds of Fairway Primary School on Monday morning by a group of Year 6 pupils.
The next day a strange rock-like object oozing slime appeared in a tree, which prompted teachers to call in the local police to investigate and the Times Series to report the story.
However, the whole event was an exercise run by teachers at the school, which moved to new buildings in The Fairway on Monday, to get youngsters to enjoy creative writing.
Year 3 teacher Davinia Leggett organised the event, which included the children being told teachers had spotted lights and mysterious objects in the sky, with parents asked to play along.
She said: “It’s really sparked their imaginations. We’ve got reluctant children writing, especially our boys.
“They’ve been talking about it all the time and coming into school with these stories of strange things happening on their way home like lights in the sky.
“It’s worked really well and the whole school has been able to get involved in the whole thing.”
Sergeant John Hourihan from the Hale Safer Neighbourhoods Team went into the school with a colleague on Tuesday to teach the children about evidence collecting and talk about their work.
He said: “It’s part of our role to come into schools and talk to the children, and it’s a great way to get them to know us as people and not just uniforms.
“Even at this young age there can be a stigma about talking to police, but we want them to be able to say hello to us when we’re out on the streets.
“They’ve all been really well behaved and responded to what we have told them. It’s nice to come in and work with the kids in their new school.”
A reporter and photographer from the Times Series also went along to ask the children about what they had seen and answer questions on their jobs.
Headteacher Jan Parker said the project had been timed to coincide with the move to the new building, which will have classrooms named after planets.
She added: “The new building gave us an opportunity to bring our creative curriculum to life.
“The children’s curiosity has been stimulated and their first few days will be very memorable and I’m sure will remain with them for many years to come.”
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