Children from Montessori Academy were given a "hands-on'' history lesson when they pretended to be survivors of the Sea Venture .

The youngsters, aged from three to six, dressed in traditional costume from the 1620s and were taken to the Idwal Wyn Hughes Nature Reserve.

They were told to search for both a location and materials to build a house, a church and a school.

Teacher Mrs. Patricia Morgan said: "To complete the experience the children took on the names of the original Sea Venture passengers.

"They enjoyed it tremendously and learned a lot, as it was a hands-on, concrete experience that will leave a lasting memory, rather than reading and learning from books and pictures.

"Food consisted of fresh fruit and water, the food being salvaged from the wreck and the water dug from a well we found.

"The children also had to avoid the hogs that were on the Islands when the Sea Venture was shipwrecked and this proved to be a popular part of the day, even though we did not see any.

"The children really got a feel for what it was like for the shipwrecked victims as the nature reserve provided an isolated, rural landscape away from the hustle of everyday life in Bermuda.'' Pictured left , the Montessori schoolchildren dressed in costume.