PUPILS at a Prudhoe school are preparing to hatch salmon eggs in their classroom.

Tyne Rivers Trust visited Adderlane Academy as part of its salmon in the classroom programme which uses the life cycle of the North Atlantic salmon to connect school children to their local river, learning about fish migration, life cycles, food chains and healthy river environments.

Simone Price, project officer at Tyne Rivers Trust, gave a presentation to the children and helped set up a tank in the classroom.

Now year three and four pupils will help to monitor water temperature within the tank as the eggs hatch into alevin, before taking a trip to the river bank to release them into river at the fry stage of their life cycle.

Simone said: “It’s fantastic to be able to help pupils to learn about the lifecycle of such an important species in a very practical way.

“While the tank is in their classroom, children will have the chance to monitor water temperature which is a really important factor for fish in our rivers and watch the eggs come to life. Once they’ve hatched, we’ll spend some time on the riverbank releasing them back into the river.”

Local company, Essity, has funded the trust to run the project with the school.

Environmental specialist, Joanne Crozier, said: “Essity is a business with strong environmental credentials, and we were keen to work with the trust on this exciting project that will teach local youngsters about the life cycle of the river’s flora and fauna.

Headteacher at Adderlane Academy, Emma Potts says: “It’s great to see the children engaging in such a hands-on learning experience that really brings the science behind the River Tyne to life.”