Gallery: Wisbech pupils enjoy behind the scenes look at town's historic church

Pupils at a Wisbech school have been given a behind the scenes look at a project which has helped the town's historic St Peter's Church become fit for the 21st century.

The Year 6 children from Orchards Academy were given a guided tour of the 900-year-old church, which has undergone major renovations thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which donated over £400,000 towards the £660,000 project.

The children's visit on Tuesday saw the pupils climb the belfry, going behind into the organ pipes and learn about the amazing instrument, as well as some hands on experience.

They were invited by Penny Stocks of Wisbech in Bloom to help reset part of the church gardens. They also had a go at paper sculpture and got to watch the stone mason at work, before having a go themselves.

Part of the National Lottery Heritage scheme, which has not only seen major repairs carried out to the church roof, stonework and drainage but also the installation of a new kitchen and toilets, was to get the town community involved.

Pivotal to that drive were the children at a number of the town's primary schools who have worked with the St Peter's Church team to initially highlight the plight of the church, and now as the four year project is almost complete, to put the spotlight on all that has been achieved.

The children from the Orchards have been part of the project from the outset and have taken part in a variety of activities including writing newspaper articles about the church and the work being done with the guidance of Citizen journalist Sarah Cliss.

To find out more about the project visit St Peter's and St Paul's Church Facebook page.