Teachers are always looking at new and exciting ways to teach children at Caldew Lea School in Carlisle.

The following is a report by some of our Year 5 children on what they have been up to.

They said: “Our topic in science this term is animals including humans and as part of this we have been looking at the circulation system including the hearts, lungs and muscles.

“In a recent lesson we dissected a sheep’s heart and lungs. Our teacher, Mrs King, went to the slaughter house at Kingstown and brought the hearts and lungs into school.”

They continued: “We started by watching a video that showed us what we were going to be doing and we had a laminated sheet giving us information and diagrams on what to do.

“There was a long piece sticking out of the front of the lung called the trachea.

“We blew into this with a straw and tried to inflate the lung. We had to cut down the trachea until we found two air holes and then we placed the straw into the holes and blew again.

“The trachea looked small to start with but when you cut it, it was massive inside. By cutting into the lung we saw more air holes that expand when the lungs are inflated.”

Pupils also examined the heart during the dissection session.

“When we cut the heart away from the lungs there was a lot of fatty tissue,” they said.

“This protects the heart. We learnt that one side of the heart is thicker than the other because one side pumps blood into the lungs and the other pumps blood all around the body.

“By pushing the veins we could move the blood around the heart – some people didn’t like doing this but it was fun.

“There were also blood clots. In the heart there are thin strings called ‘heart strings’ and these contract and expand as the heart pumps blood around our body.”

The pupils summed up their practical science lesson.

They said: “We thought this lesson was a brilliant way to learn about the organs in our body. It was exciting, fun and interesting although some people were not as keen as others.”

Caldew Lea School, in Ashley Street, has around 300 pupils on roll, working across 12 different classes.

The primary school is currently led by interim headteacher Kuldip McMullan.