SCHOOLPUPILS were transformed into young witches and wizards yesterday (January 5), after their school launched a term themed around Harry Potter.

More than 200 children from Green Lane C of E Primary School, in Barnard Castle, were sorted into their Hogwarts houses by headteacher, Paula Ford, who, along with teachers, carried out a secret mission to transform the school into the town’s very own school for witchcraft and wizardry.

Along with earning points for their different houses, children also now have their very own Platform Nine and Three Quarters , grand hall for assemblies and magical professors, after the teachers were tasked with making their own cloaks to wear for themed lessons.

The magical theme was chosen as the whole school topic as part of the curriculum and will particularly concentrate on classes such as science and design technology.

Mrs Ford said the launch was a great surprise for the children who had no idea their school would become Hogwarts when they returned for their first day back after Christmas.

“We decided to keep it quite bookish because reading is at the forefront and with the Harry Potter theme we are particularly focusing on science, design technology and the personal social skills because it has lots of good messages,” she said.

“It’s a great way to get the children hooked into learning and we’ve had some good feedback from parents saying the kids did not want to come back after Christmas but now they love it and I had one child say it was the best day of his life.”