The 338 children of Petersfield Infant School paid their own respects to Queen Elizabeth II with a special picnic celebration in the playground.

To celebrate the special day marking the Queen’s 70-year reign, the school held a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Fun Day, and pupils left their uniforms at home and dressed up ‘royally’ in red, white and blue outfits, along with their teachers.

In the week before the celebration at the school in St Peter’s Road, a life-size colour silhouette of a smiling Queen ‘toured’ the building, popping up around it and at the school crossing in Hylton Road.

And after weeks of practising their Jubilee songs and the national anthem, the children came together as an entire school in the playground to sing and enjoy the moment together.

For the Jubilee celebration on Friday, May 27, pupils had made their own flags to wave.

The playground was also decorated with home-made bunting made by pupils in the run-up to the celebration.

Each pupil also wore a crown or tiara that they had made and decorated in class.

Before the singing started, all the youngsters enjoyed a playground picnic.

They each got an extra special treat of crisps, juice and biscuits before the celebratory singing got under way.

Finishing their picnic, they then all stood together to sing and wave their flags at the event on the Friday before their half-term holiday started.

Led by their headteacher Crissy Hodgkinson, and with enthusiastic help from all the teaching staff, the children created a truly special memory of the Jubilee among their peers and all together – something they, and school staff, couldn’t even think about a year ago during the height of the pandemic.