Seated in Victorian costume, in long, regimented rows, pupils from Barrow's St Pius X RC School got a taste of life a hundred years before in June 1994.

The year one pupils had been studying Victorian history for the previous few weeks and for one day they decided to live it.

The had assembly in their long, hooped skirts and breeches and even wrote on slates for some of their lessons.

In September 1995 children from St Pius X RC School took a trip to Ormsgill reservoir as part of a class project about water.

The old pool once supplied water to the Barrow steelworks but in 1995 it was a quiet haven for wildlife.

The banks had recently been landscaped with new footpaths, tree-planting and benches.

The children explored the area, fed the ducks and sans, made drawings and recorded their thoughts.

In March 1996 chess kings at the school won the Furness Schools Chess Association shield at the first attempt.

The potential grandmasters were awarded the trophy for the best overall team performance in the competition.

Their success was all the more remarkable given that the school's chess club had been formed only the previous September.

The winning team comprised Daniel Vance, Phillip Park, Paul Jones, Andrew Hazard and Carl Millard, with reserves Carl Pearson and Samantha Rennie.

Daniel and Phillip were awarded special shields for their performances on the night.

The school's Monday night chess club was run by Paul Jones' father, Trevor.

Headteacher Ann Lillevik said: "They've done very well to learn so much in such a short time.

"I'm sure they could beat me easily."

The individual winners in the competition were Jack Davey and Philip Wilson, of Pennington School, which came second in the team competition.

The two boys qualified for a chess tournament to be held in Newcastle.