CHILDREN and teachers were amazed to encounter a UFO on their way into school as part of a creative festive activity.

Pupils at Gaskell Community Primary School in Holden Thomas Street in Bolton encountered the grounded flying saucer on Monday, November 13 in their playground.

As well as the pupils, teachers and then parents came to the scene to photograph the mysterious objects and now, with Christmas just around the corner, they have decided to share their discovery with the rest of the community.

School creative writing co-ordinator Aimee O’Donnell said: “At the moment in school we’re having a really big focus on creative writing.

“We just want to provide them with a really immersive experience and obviously with Christmas coming up we wanted to link it with the John Lewis advert An Unexpected Guest.”

The UFOs were made by Miss O’Donnell with an incredible attention to detail aimed at ensuring they came as close as possible to matching children’s imaginations.

She also had the idea of linking the UFO appearance to this year’s John Lewis advert as a way of engaging pupils with their creative potential.

Miss O’Donnell said: “They took me and my partner about a month to put together but it was really worth it seeing how all the kids responded.”

She added: “The older kids from Year Six were trying to be a bit cool but even they were really getting into it.

“It really inspired them. At break they were all out looking at it and doing their own investigations!”

The UFOs were then tied in with the pupil’s creative writing project, with each of them challenged with studying each aspect of the John Lewis advert before coming up with their own alternative endings.

These ranged from the a spaceship making an appearance to a new version of Santa’s sleigh featuring.

As Christmas approaches, Miss O’Donnell’s incredible creation is certain to ensure that this year’s festive period is sure to live long in Gaskell pupils' memories.