YOUNGSTERS got a taste of life on the ocean waves when their school held a pirate-themed day last week.

Pupils in year two at Aysgarth School, near Bedale, got the taste for adventure when they were invited to dress as pirates on Friday, as part of their studies on the theme of ‘oceans and seas’.

Teacher Emma Barlow planned lessons on a pirate theme, which included baking ship’s biscuits and solving maths problems using tankards and bottles of ‘Blackbeard’s Grog’.

Pirate day finished with a treasure hunt around the grounds of the school in order to find a hoard of chocolate ‘doubloons’.

The treasure hunt finished at an appropriate point – the real ship’s cannon displayed at the school. The cannon is from the pre-Napoleonic period.

Mrs Barlow said: "Everyone really entered into the spirit of the day and I hope that having such unusual lessons will help them remember what they have learnt."