Pupils from Farway, Broadhembury and Branscombe finished their work on the Roman invasion in a hands-on way.

In the morning, the children were visited by experts from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, who led activities associated with the Seaton Down Horde, discovered locally.

The youngsters talked to a ‘Roman’ who was in the area 2,000 years ago, did archaeological digging, handled artefacts and made Roman coins.

For lunch the children enjoyed a feast, prepared by the three schools, using Roman recipes: stuffed ‘dormice’ (pastry mice stuffed with sausage filling), spiced chicken legs, ricotta and honey tarts, Roman apple cake, bread and stuffed dates.

The children tried a range of new foods whilst lying down to eat.

In the afternoon, the youngsters joined the Roman Army for tactical training, including the tortoise formation, built aqueducts to provide Rome with water and practised Roman writing in Latin on clay tablets.

Pupil Hettie, ten, said: “When we went to Farway to learn more about Romans, I enjoyed writing in Latin on clay because I like learning languages.”

Another pupil, Abby, added: “I really enjoyed finding out about how the Roman Empire fell and how they found 22,888 coins. I also enjoyed dressing as a Roman and making clay signs and aqueducts.”