PUPILS of Langford Budville Primary School have collected their school Christmas tree from nearby Langford Lakes, literally.

The family-run Christmas tree farm, which has given Wellington’s town centre tree free of charge, is about one mile from the school.

So, the entire school walked the half-an-hour to the farm to meet owner Shaun Hendy, who gave the youngsters an informative tour of the plantation.

The children learned about how thousands of six-inch saplings were planted every year, each of them already three years old, and how staff prepared the ground, weeded, and protected the ‘leader’ - the stem at the top of the tree.

They were then allowed to choose a tree to take back to school.

Breaking into their house groups, the children investigated the different types of trees and discussed spikiness, bushiness, and height, and finally narrowed it down to four choices from which Mr Hendy picked the most beautiful one for the school to enjoy.

The pupils then had the back-breaking challenge of carrying the tree back to the school, taking it in turns to haul it across four fields and the village, following footpaths through turnip fields and hollow ways.

Once back at school the youngsters put up the tree and decorated it.