A rocket rose above the trees of Oakworth on Tuesday as the Nova/Starchaser 4 visited the village primary school.

Children were able to examine the 15-metre rocket and see footage of its test launch in 2001 at Morecambe Bay.

They chatted with scientists and engineers from the team developing the rocket for a possible future manned flight.

Students from Stanbury and Branshaw schools also went along to see the £500,000 rocket. The Starchaser launched a week of space-based science activities involving all children from Oakworth Primary School.

Each class focused on a particular planet or star, with other sessions drawing on space projects at Shipley College and the Children's University.

The grandfather of one pupil visited the school to talk about his former job working on rocket propulsion systems.

Year six students visited Keighley College's STAR Centre, which has a mock-up of the Mars surface, a space base and Mission Control.

The visit was organised by the school's key stage one science coordinator, Anne Hargreaves, after she read about Starchaser 4. Parents were asked to donate towards the £1,500 cost of hiring the rocket.

Starchaser 4 was sent one mile up into the air above Morecambe Bay in 2001.