YOUNGSTERS from two schools have enjoyed a banquet fit for royalty as part of a joint history project.

Pupils from Pittington Primary School, in Durham, and St John's Primary School, in Shildon, tucked into a three-course feast in the banqueting hall at Lumley Castle, Chester-le-Street.

It was the culmination of a project on Tudor times, which year four children from both schools have been learning about. They were greeted by a piper and choir, given their food by servants and ate the meal with daggers, rather than knives and forks, to create as authentic an atmosphere as possible.

Christine Johnston, of St John's Primary School, said: "It was lovely.

"It was just a way of bringing the curriculum to life and letting them experience what life was like in Tudor times."