YOUNGSTERS across York and North Yorkshire have been presented with a galaxy of fresh opportunities to broaden their horizons.

Pupils at a primary school near York have been immersed in their own “imaginary worlds” during an activities week.

Each year group at Poppleton Ousebank Primary School took the theme of a story or film that was set in an imaginary world and planned art, drama, ICT and writing activities around it.

Children “walked the plank”, wrote messages in bottles, sat down to tea with the Mad Hatter, looked for dinosaur fossils in Dinosaur Cove and invented machines of the future with Meet The Robinsons.

The pupils’ work was displayed to the village community.

Headteacher Estelle O’Hara said: “The children have been buzzing all week. Parents have been sneaking in to find out what has been going on because it has been the topic of conversation at home.

“Parents said how they love the feel of the school and how alive it feels. This is great to know.”

Meanwhile, pupils at All Saints’ RC School will be gazing towards other worlds with a new telescope capable of seeing galaxies over 50 million light years away.

The telescope is one of 1,000 being given to schools by the Society For Popular Astronomy.

It will make the Moon appear 60 times closer and on a clear night pupils will be able to see distant galaxies.

Peter Fairhurst, subject leader for science at the school, said he planned to take pupils out to view the sky at night and the telescope would be a valuable asset to A-Level physics students.

Youngsters in Tadcaster and the surrounding area will be able to get a taste of a very different part of the world after the town’s swimming pool took delivery of an Ice Adventure inflatable.

The facility will be available every school holiday during Crazy Fun Sessions.

Natalia Stothard, the pool’s newly-appointed assistant manager, said: “We have already had a lot of interest from local youngsters who helped us select this particular piece of equipment and we hope that we will see sell-out sessions every time.

“The Ice Adventure features an obstacle course that includes an igloo, a polar bear and a slide to finish – it’s a real challenge.”

Nearby, at Tadcaster Grammar School, Year 8 pupils experienced cultures from the other side of the world when a leading south east Asian arts organisation visited to increase awareness of racial and social issues.

Teacher Helen Copper said pupils threw themselves into the spirit of dance workshops run by the Kala Sangam group and also experienced drumming and textile workshops.

And City of York MP Hugh Bayley hailed additional opportunities for toddlers during a visit to a city nursery group.

The Labour politician dropped in to Tang Hall Squirrels to see how nurseries are improving the quality of education in York.

All families are now able to access early education, with children as young as three years old able to attend nursery schools for 15 hours a week, 38 weeks of the year, through a £340 million scheme funded by the Government. The Labour politician said: “It’s good to see the children enjoying their time at Tang Hall Squirrels.

“They are learning important lessons through play which will stand them in good stead when they start primary school as well as making friends that may last throughout their school lives and beyond.

“It’s important that young children get early education and it is fantastic that the number of young children receiving a free place at nursery is still rising. I want every child in York to have access to early education and the Government is committed to making sure this number continues to rise.”