PUPILS of St David’s High School, Saltney, have kept themselves busy recently thanks to a curriculum focus day and the arrival of an Australian soap star.

Sam Clark, who played Ringo Brown in Neighbours until his dramatic exit last month, paid a visit to the school to talk about his career and answer questions on training.

The 22-year-old star has now turned his attention to music, having written songs and played guitar since the age of 15. He performed a selection of his songs to an audience of excited students and staff members.

Meanwhile, pupils have been learning a range of specialist topics via practical activities in the curriculum focus event.

The theme of the day was Changing Faces – How Society is Changing, which saw Year 7 pupils spending the day learning about the space race before designing, testing and launching their own rockets. They also visited a mobile planetarium to learn more about the universe.

Year 8 children looked at how eating and exercise habits affect health, while Year 9 students experienced life on a slave ship under the authority of ‘Captain McNasty’ before moving on to look at modern day slavery and the alternatives of ethical and fair trading.

Year 10 students spent the part of the day with Chris Matthewman, stand-up comedian and educationalist, looking at how to manage relationships, and also looked at aspects of sex and health education.

Deputy headteacher Chris Usher said: “It’s great to give our students a chance to learn beyond the classroom and gain insights into things that affect them and their daily lives.

“They responded with great enthusiasm and all of the visitors spoke positively about the experience of working with our young people.”