The pupils at the Thomas Holden Street school know a thing or two about how to create the perfect seasonal food and have been enjoying getting to grips with flipping the tasty treats.

While the youngsters plan to enjoy tucking into piles of pancakes today, the origins of Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday, date back centuries.

The date falls each year in February or March on the day immediately preceding the first day of the Christian season of Lent, which is called Ash Wednesday.

Shove Tuesday comes from the word “shrive” — to gain absolution from sins by doing penance — and is a day when Christians would traditionally go to confession, admit their sins and ask for absolution before Lent begins.

The association with pancakes is thought to have arisen in the 16th century as a way of using up rich ingredients such as butter, eggs and fat which were discouraged from being eaten during Lent.

In the past families would clear kitchen cupboards of fattening foods so they would not be tempted to eat them.

Pancake recipes have been around for at least 600 years, being found in cookbooks as far back as 1439 and tossing the fried goodies is almost as old, with references to the technique in writings stretching back to the 17th century.

Great Britain shares eating pancakes as a special meal with Canada and Australia, while in Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island there is a tradition of cooking small tokens into the pancakes for children to find.

However, in England, several traditions once associated with Shrove Tuesday have disappeared, such as having “mob football” games, a practice which died out after the Highways Act of 1835 banned playing the game on public highways.

In some areas pancake races are still held, the most famous one being in Olney, Buckinghamshire, where housewives run the 415 yard course while tossing pancakes.