A CLASS of pupils from a Barnoldswick school got ready for take off at Manchester Airport.

Thirty pupils in reception at Coates Lane Primary School visited Runway Visitor Park at the airport.

While there, the youngsters saw what it was like to be part of the flight crew, cabin crew and air traffic control.

Reception class teacher Nicola Boon said: "The reason we went is because we're learning about Australia. As we couldn't go to Australia, we organised a trip that links with this topic and decided to look at how you could get there from an airport.

"The visitor park was right next the runway, so we watched planes take off and land," said Mrs Boon. "Some of the children had never been on an aeroplane before, so they were really excited."

They were especially delighted to see an Airbus A 380, the world's largest passenger aeroplane, and also enjoyed a visit to a hanger to get an up close look at the Concorde, a retired turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner.

But one of the highlights of the day was getting a chance to sit in the cockpit of a DC-10.

"Some of the children now want to be a pilot," said Mrs Boon. "The awe of seeing aeroplanes land and take off inspires the children write about doing amazing things. We like to follow a creative curriculum, which gets the children buzzing and gets them writing."