Distant memories of a sunny seashore field trip last summer are being kept alive in fascinating fashion at Polwhele House School, Truro.

A collection of a wide variety of sea creatures is proving a big attraction for pupils, staff and visitors alike in the school's entrance hall.

As part of their seashore ecology project, Year 7 spent a day at Trevellas Porth near Newquay, where they studied aspects of beach and marine life, including the zoning of species on the rocky shore. For the last hour, they collected specimens for transfer to a sea tank at the school.

"Despite a bit of natural predation, many of the original inhabitants are still growing and thriving," says David Conington, Polwhele's head of science.

"They include a grey mullet, a blenny, prawns, cushion starfish, crabs and anemones. Seashore organisms are particularly hardy and clearly well able to cope with fluctuations in temperature and salinity and so on."

He added: "The tank is a great source of interest. It provides an ever-changing display and the seashore field trip has now become an annual part of the Year 7 science curriculum."