Year 5 and 6 pupils paid a visit to the secondary phase's science lab last Wednesday to examine the precious rock - which is kept in protective packaging - under microscopes.

The rock, taken from different parts of the moon, was brought back on the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, the last time man landed on the moon.

They also got the chance to hold and study meteors, while Science Teacher Iain Holmes explained that when rock is in space it is called an asteroid but as soon as it hits the earth's atmosphere, it is referred to as a meteor.

The primary phase pupils have been studying space in class and they were helped out by Year 10 students in the science lab.

Mr Holmes said: "They won't have used microscopes in the primary phase so they were using some of the skills they will learn when they move into Year 7.

"It also linked in with their studies of space and the moon."

Year 6 pupil Hayden Maris said: "I haven't seen moon rock before so it was really interesting."

The rock was on loan from the Science and Technology Facilities Council.