PUPILS at Chilton Foliat Church of England Primary School have been learning the hard way that in Victorian days teachers were not quite as nice as they are today.

As part of their curriculum studies, the 107 children in the village school have been studying the Victorian period.

To get the message home about the strictures of the times the school held a Victorian day.

Everyone from the headteacher Anne Niewiadomski to the dinner ladies and all the students dressed in period style.

One of the lighter parts of the timetable was a typically Victorian picnic lunch.

Lessons were largely the old fashioned 3Rs reading, writing and arithmetic and the children had to be ready throughout the day to recite their times tables.

School governor Richard Clarke dressed as Victorian gentleman who tested the children on their times tables.

A school spokeswoman said: "The children were constantly asked to show their hands so that we could see how dirty they were.

"They had to do drills all through the day and the boys and girls were segregated at break and lunch times.

"Everyone in the school dressed as Victorians and the headteacher was so stern she was scary."

The Victorian Day is the culmination of a Victorian project with which the pupils have been involved.