Primary school pupils got a taste of the world of engineering thanks to a visit from a historic charity.

The Rochester Bridge Trust attended Swingate Primary School in Lordswood, near Chatham.

Children took part in a series of workshops to learn about forces and how they are applied and considered in the design of bridges.

They also participated in a series of bridge-building activities, learning about five different types of bridge and completing a Bridge Building Passport to document their achievements.

This knowledge was put to the test in the afternoon during a paper bridge building challenge.

Trust education officer Claire Saunders, who attended the event, said: "It's really important to show young children the possibilities of engineering, which run way beyond what can be imagined when studying concepts in a text book.

"Hands-on activities bring lessons to life, and the enthusiasm of the children who took part was wonderful to see.

"The pupils clearly paid attention during the workshops, as their design ideas during the paper bridge challenge were well thought out.

"It was also a pleasure to hear their delight as the structures were tested at the end of the day."

Year 5 teacher and school science lead Annette Friday said: "What I wanted to get out of it was to inspire them and to teach them more about engineering and for them to explore different career choices.

"It's a career they may not be particularly exposed to or even know about and the talk Claire did at the beginning about the historical aspects of Rochester Bridge was really interesting.

"I loved watching the children work in a different way and every single child was completely engaged, and not only did they use engineering and science skills, they also had to use their team-building skills."

• Single lanes of the Rochester Bridge will be closed overnight on Monday and Tuesday for refurbishment works.

It is part of the Rochester Bridge Refurbishment Project and will be carried out by FM Conway on behalf of the Rochester Bridge Trust.

Traffic management will be put in place overnight on the two days and single lane closures will run during off-peak hours from 9pm until 5am.

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