RE lessons at a Stoke Church of England school are flying high with pupils studying inside the refurbished fuselage of a commercial airliner.

Instead of the traditional classroom of desks and chairs, the pupils at Kingsland C of E Primary School board the 82ft long Short 360 aircraft to take their seats and fire up their laptops.

It has cost more than £20,000 for the Bucknall school to land the plane outside the main building – less than having a mobile classroom, creating worldwide interest in the project, not least from leaders at nearby St Mary’s Church, which has strong links with the school.

‘It’s an amazing project,’ said the Rev Mick Ellor, rector of the Bucknall team ministry who last month moved to become vicar of Branston.

During his 12 years in Stoke, he has built a solid relationship with the school with both himself and colleague the Rev Dave Street becoming part of the curriculum.

‘It has taken over a year to get the aircraft sourced and it’s an illustration of the inventive thinking of the school. In some ways it’s a great pity that I won’t have the opportunity to get to know the aircraft, because of my move to Branston.’

A total of 30 pupils can be seated inside the fuselage and was the idea of a six-year-old pupil who suggested it during a ‘brain storming’ assembly.

‘This is really great and you can only complement the school on taking the project on and seeing it through. It’s an inspiration and so inventive,’ said Dave Street, who was appointed lay worker to the Bucknall team over a year ago.

Both were there to see the plane given its wings and already it’s having an affect with the school reporting some of the best SATs results in the school’s history.

‘The positive effects that working on the project have had on the whole school continue to grow. The children's attainment across all subjects has increased significantly, with the most positive SATs results in the school's history, and its first ever oversubscribed year.

‘The integration of creative teaching and learning, and the level of control the children had over their own experience, has evidently made learning all the more irresistible to them. This uniquely innovative project has illustrated the value of problem solving and critical thinking, within an enquiry-based learning model,’ said head teacher David Lawrence.

‘But this impact was far from restricted to the students; teachers were also supported in their development throughout the project, working alongside a diverse range of other professionals and attending external developmental courses. As befits a creative curriculum, it was important to focus on teaching practice, as well as learning, and embed creativity throughout the planning, delivery and evaluation processes.’

The school has worldwide coverage with the project and has its own ‘Kings Wings’ website to update people on just what is happening.

‘Hopefully, it’s also given the involvement of Bucknall Church with the school a lift off,,’ said Mick Ellor.