PUPILS at North Walney Primary School have been learning public speaking skills with the help of historical figures.

The Kingfisher class made up of year 5 and year 6 students donned World War One costumes as they took part in a public speaking challenge.

Teacher Karen Joyce said: “We’ve been teaching the children about various different skills using elements from the World Wars as inspiration.

“For this assignment, the children learned about formal speeches to help develop both their writing and public speaking skills as part of their English curriculum."

Kingfishers analysed Neville Chamberlain’s ‘Declaration of War’ address from 1939 in which the Prime Minister announced that Great Britain was officially at war with Germany.

The pupils then wrote and performed their own speeches to their classmates based on the famous speech.

Years 5 & 6 brought their speeches to life by getting dressed up in clothing reminiscent of the wartime period.

Mrs Joyce said: “The children loved it. And not just the getting dressed up, but everything about the tasks from writing to performing.

“It was the first time a lot of the children had taken part in public speaking which can be scary, so it was great to see how much they enjoyed it.

"Even the quieter children loved getting involved which is really important.”