Photo gallery: Norwich youngsters inspired by Lotus

A Lotus Evora parked on the playground of a Norwich school yesterday drew gasps of excitement from youngsters learning about invention.

The visit to Costessey Junior School, on Three Mile Lane, was part of the academy's new creative curriculum.

It aimed to capture the attention of the year six class and inspire them to work hard this half term.

Vice principal Katie Cocks said it seemed to have worked.

'They were absolutely amazed and huge gasps of excitement were coming from all of them,' she said.

Pupils were heard saying 'I wish this was my car' and 'I never wanted to get out' as they got a chance to look around the Evora, sit in it, sketch and learn about its many features.

The team from Lotus, based at Hethel, near Wymondham, then sat down with the 10 and 11-year-olds to answer their questions.

The children were able to ask about the way the car was designed, careers in engineering and other areas of the Lotus business, as well as the mandatory 'how fast does it go?'.

Full of inspiration, the pupils will now head back to the classroom where they will spend the next few weeks learning about invention.

History classes will look at the introduction of the locomotive and how it transformed the Victorian world, as well as the history of the car and how it has evolved over the years.

Maths and science classes will look at aerodynamics and design and technology lessons will see pupils design and make their own new product.