It was billed as a spectacular experience but youngsters at Halfway Houses primary were left wondering what all the fuss was about.

Pupils, teachers and parents, congregated on the field at the Southdown Road site wearing special glasses last Friday morning to watch the much-anticipated solar eclipse.

Unfortunately, many of the children were left a little deflated after cloud cover meant there was not much to see.

The eclipse coincided with the teachers making a special effort to promote science in school by taking part in the nationwide Science Mark scheme.

The programme involves encouraging schools to place a greater emphasis on the practical aspects of the subject and the primaries across the country are then graded for how well they further the subject.

Halfway Houses is celebrating achieving the silver level award in the scheme and is currently working towards gold.

Teaching assistant Jo Edwards said of Friday’s slightly anticlimactic showing: “We decided to celebrate the solar eclipse by holding an event on the field where the children could experience this amazing opportunity and where their parents could join them.

“It was lovely to see so many adults turn up to share the event with the children, even though the weather meant we could not actually see very much!”