Gasps of horror, shock, and excitement filled the halls of Caldew School as pupils enjoyed an interactive demonstration of how the digestive system works.

Pupils of all ages spent their Monday getting to grips with the way that the human body works and just what happens to our food when we eat.

There were screams, cries of disgust, and laughs as pupils and teachers alike looked on horrified as the presenter’s demonstration reached the endpoint of the digestive process.

Phil Brown, head of science at Caldew School, said: “Most science teachers in the world find it hard to get a lesson as exciting as talking about poo as the guys from the Science Museum did.

“It’s just a brilliant opportunity really, times are hard for schools, we don’t have the money to put the children on the bus and get them down to London and the Science Museum.”

Anaïs Radière, outreach developer for the Science Museum, said: “We take the children on a journey from the mouth to the other end down to the toilet, it’s very graphic and visual.

“It’s a very fun show to do.”

The pupils definitely had fun too during the hour-long show.

It was the videos of the inside of the body that really had the students hiding behind their hands.

They were shouting out answers to questions about the body and helping the presenters.

Sam McArdle, 13, from Dalston, said: “All of the experiments were really good because they showed you how it works.

“It’s a bit weird because you see more videos and stuff.”

Ebony Dickinson, 11, from Carlisle, added: “Some of the bits were quite weird and disgusting but it was quite good.

“There was a lot more going on.”

It is all part of a collaboration between the Science Museum and the University of Cumbria to bring a roadshow to local schools that will get young people excited about science.

There is a national drive to encourage pupils to look to a future in the science industry.

Nigel Smith, STEM Coordinator for the university, said: “The shows are designed to excite the children about science but they also link in to the school curriculum so they support what the teachers are delivering.”