Youngsters used their own bodies to form the shape of a boat built by shipwreck survivors in Bermuda 400 years ago this month.

Seventy students from Clearwater Middle School gathered at the exact spot at Builder's Bay in St. George's where the Deliverance was launched in March 1610.

They created a human version of the famous vessel, which was 40ft long, 19ft wide and carried at least 100 people from the Island to Chesapeake Bay in the United States.

Deputy principal Derek Tully told The Royal Gazette that the children practised using an outline of the vessel drawn in their schoolyard in St. David's.

"This is all part of our heritage curriculum studies at Clearwater," said Dr. Tully. "By forming the shape of Deliverance, it gives children a picture of the challenges faced by the colonists.

"This is a far better way of teaching than studying dreary text books or doing worksheets. It is called Kinesthetic teaching: the children are actually learning better by participating in the lesson and using their imagination to look at real problems in real situations."

The Deliverance was built by survivors of the Sea Venture shipwreck and sailed on a ten-day voyage from Bermuda to Virginia in 1610. She was launched two months before at Builder's Bay and towed round to Convict Bay where her masts and sails were fitted.

Dr. Tully said: "Exact spot, exact month, exact shape — 400 years later. We were even there at high tide, when the Deliverance would have been launched.

"It was quite exciting for the kids who play round that area after school and don't really know the amazing story of what happened there 400 years ago. Now they do!"

He said the pupils spent the whole day in St. George yesterday carrying out heritage projects.