Children at a primary school celebrated Chinese New Year early with a little help from the local takeaway.

About 50 children in reception classes at Newton Hall Infants School, in Durham City, tried Chinese cuisine in a week of events to celebrate Oriental culture.

The four and five-year-olds spent the week making Chinese lanterns, dancing to traditional Chinese music and made their own dragon sculptures for a dragon dance around the school yard to welcome the Year of the Rooster.

Staff and pupils dressed up in traditional clothing and enjoyed Chinese dishes provided for the children by the nearby Evergreen Chop Suey House.

Headteacher Lynn Blacklock said: "It was a lovely day. The children had a lot of fun but it also taught them about other cultures. There really was a mountain of food for them to tuck into."