SHIVER me timbers! Young pirates took over for the day when they came aboard at a Bolton primary school.

But fortunately the youngsters at St Joseph’s RC Primary in Halliwell were all matey and rather than run amok, the pirates found themselves having a fun day of learning.

All 201 pupils dressed as pirates as the school went off-timetable for the day.

Staff, including office, site and kitchen workers, also became pirates for a themed day of learning.

This included a pirate cooking class, writing with a real-life pirate in the form of artist Johnny Woodhams and treasure hunts using orienteering skills.

Children were put in mixed age groups and took part in all six activities, which also included arts and crafts. They also went to pirate school in which the youngsters took part in problem-solving and pirate games.

A special pirate lunch — cannon ball pizza, golden doubloons, yo ho ho potatoes, pieces of eight and Jolly Roger roll with pirate punch — was served up.

The day was organised by teacher Eleanor Palmer.

Acting head Lorna Drzymala said: “Pirate day at St Joseph’s is just the start of things to come. We like to think outside the box and today is an example of how to keep standards high while recognising what our children want to learn about and develop skills that they will need for the future.

“As Ofsted said, we are a school where pupils thrive and where every pupil is known, valued and cared for — and this immensely successful day showed this to the fullest."

One pirate, eight-year-old Ali Hussain, said: “I thought it was fabulous because we got to use our kitchen skills to make stew like we will have to in the future.”

Tierney Hilton, aged 11, said: “I loved helping the younger children on the ‘walk the plank’ activity while problem solving.

“I thought we learned more than we usually would in normal lessons, too. It was the best themed day ever.”