CHILDREN found a sparkly surprise at their primary school on World Book Day.

Year 2 pupils at Freshwaters Primary Academy in Harlow discovered lily pads, water and glitter all over their desks.

The surprise was part of a storytelling session during World Book Day.

The class worked on plans to capture elusive visitors and quizzed witnesses around school to piece together the story of what had happened.

Jacinta Addison, Year 2 teacher, said: “We want pupils to really understand the story and then have a go at writing their own versions.

“They were so excited to find the evidence on their desks, it’s the most excited I’ve ever seen children.

“This is exactly the sort of thing we need to do for them to spark their imaginations for their own story writing.”

Pupils in all year groups dressed as their favourite book characters and were given book tokens to exchange at their local book shop.

They also took part in Drop Everything And Read sessions with their favourite books from home, paired up with peers from other classes to share stories and entered the Book Jar Competition where they represented a book in a jar.

Sixth form students from Epping St John’s School, in Epping, also visited to read with Year 1 pupils.