PUPILS have checked in for lessons in the world's very first classroom inside an aeroplane.

Crowds of parents and children gathered at Kingsland Primary School in Bucknall yesterday to witness the unveiling of a unique outdoor classroom – a converted 22 metre long plane.

The S-360 aircraft, which used to fly businessmen to Ireland and Spain, was saved from a scrap yard and has been converted into a classroom featuring laptops, white boards

and foldaway desks.

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See the video of the launch of the new classroom

The project, known as King's Wings, was officially unveiled yesterday by children's author and former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo.

Mr Morpurgo, author of Kensuke's Kingdom and Little Foxes, among others, suggested changing the words of the famous song to: "That magnificent school and its flying machine."

He told the gathered parents, teachers and children: "I have been to schools all over the world and not a single one has got a plane in its playground."

Speaking after taking a tour of the aeroplane, Mr Morpurgo, who was invited to the school by pupil Liam Peters, said: "At first I thought it was a hoax to try to get me to come to the school. I get lots of letters and people use all sorts of tricks to try to get me to visit them.

"Then I looked at the website and saw that it was true. I think it is incredible, I love it.

"It will be something that the children will always remember. When they go away from school and think back on their time, they are going to think about the aeroplane."

Eleven-year-old Liam, of Abbey Hulton, said: "I have got some of his books and they are fun. It was great to meet him. It's a rare opportunity to meet someone famous.

"The plane is amazing – it will make classes more exciting."

It has cost the school about £20,000 to buy the plane and convert it into a fully modernised classroom – about a quarter of the cost of a traditional portable building modified to the same specifications. The plane itself cost £11,000.

Headteacher David Lawrence said: "When we realised we needed an extra classroom, rather than simply get a portable building we wanted to do something a bit different.

"We asked the children what they wanted and someone said a train, someone else said a tree house and one boy said a plane. That was the idea that captured the children's imagination, so we went out and found one.

"It was saved from a scrap yard and we have effectively recycled it to create the world's first 'flying' classroom.

"The children have been involved in the design and all aspects of the project management of the King's Wings.

"It is something they will never forget. It has been good for the children's aspirations, because we have shown them that if you want to do something and you put your mind to it, you can achieve. It is an ambitious project, but I was always confident we would succeed."

Pupil Ryan Hughes, aged seven, of Bucknall, first dreamed up the idea of converting a plane into a classroom.

He said: "Instead of having an ordinary classroom, I thought we should have an extraordinary one. A plane was the most extraordinary thing I could think of. Apart from a shark."

The aeroplane, originally a 40-seater commercial aircraft, was transported to the school from Hinstock airfield, near Market Drayton.

The first children have now taken lessons in the aeroplane, which has been named Pheonix at the suggestion of three pupils, Alecea Brindley, aged six, of Bucknall, Sian Fraser, aged 11, of Bentilee, and Sam Lawton, aged nine, of Bucknall.

Sian said: "I was talking about names to my mum and she said Pheonix. I looked up the word in the dictionary and found out the Pheonix is a bird which rises from the ashes and we saved the plane from a scrap yard. And it is one of a kind.

"The plane is amazing. It isn't how I thought it would be, it is better."

Sam said: "It looks really good, I'm looking forward to going into it."

Parent Glenis Latham, of Godfrey Street, Bucknall, has one daughter, Emma, aged 11, at the school. She said: "It's fantastic. I didn't believe it when I first heard about it. I wish they had something like it when I was at school."

Janice Johnson, aged 36, of Berry Hill, has two children who attend the school, Courtney, aged nine, and Thomas, aged five.

She said: "It is brilliant, especially when you think no other school has anything like it.

"The children really like it and it makes a change from sitting in the classroom.

"Especially children who don't get on well in the classroom might be better behaved in the plane."

Mr Lawrence said the school planned to use the plane to host adult learning classes in the future.