PERSONNEL from an RAF airbase shared their engineering expertise with pupils at a West Oxfordshire school.

Children at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Carterton were wide-eyed as they welcomed a team from RAF Halton, in Buckinghamshire.

The airbase runs a programme designed to engage more children in STEM (science, technology, maths and engineering) subjects, and sent some of its experts to the school earlier this month.

Children learnt to use a clever gadget called a Stixx machine, which rolls newspapers so tightly that they become strong enough to make sturdy structures such as towers, chairs and model aircraft.

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Younger pupils had a competition to see whose paper aeroplane could fly the furthest.

Personnel returned for a second day of lessons with older pupils, who constructed bridges and tested which was the most durable, by loading weights on top of their creations.

RAF Halton usually works with schools closer to its base, but worked with RAF Brize Norton and Benson to reach children further afield.

Corporal Kieran Skews was one of the STEM ambassadors who organised the day.

He said: "The children showed a massive interest in the making and building of the structures - they were totally engrossed with the learning.

"I’d like to thank Oxford Armed Forces Recruitment Office and RAF Benson for providing equipment, and everyone that helped make it a success."

More than 1,000 children from different schools have so far benefitted from the STEM activities offered by RAF Halton.