Young students have been putting science on the list of supermarket special officers at Sainsbury.

The youngsters from Dartmouth Academy have been inviting shoppers to get involved with their science experiments at the Dartmouth store as part their 'science week'.

The children took over part of the store on Monday and Wednesday this week as they persuaded members of the public to take part in their aiming, running and balancing tests.

The week's experiments culminated in yesterday's Science Open Evening at the academy.

Youngsters from Years 5, 6, 7 and 8 were involved in the supermarket challenges which also promoted different age groups working together to help underline the academy's close-knit community ethos.

The fun learning days were based around the academy's 'Be the best you can' theme and part of its 'Tenth Day' timetabled lessons.

This latest series of days have been organised by director of learning and science at the academy, Andrew Carpenter; curriculum consultant Dave Strudwick; and Kate Taylor, director of learning.

'These events and Tenth Days are creating excitement around science and giving them the chance to work with other learners and even with siblings who wouldn't normally work together – and this allows them to see how other children learn,' said Kate.

'This project is so positive because people can see science isn't confined to the classroom with white coats and chemicals – it's using sports science and creating a question yourself and testing it.

'The children see that this is what it means to be a scientist by having the chance to be a scientist.

'We hope lots of people come down to take part in our experiments.'

Dartmouth Academy principal Nick Hindmarsh said: 'We are seeing the Tenth Days bringing so many benefits to the staff and learners here at the academy.

'Our teachers are getting to work with different ages and are finding new and innovative ways to teach using an overriding theme.

'Our results are seeing a dramatic improvement this year and we think that is because of the changes we have made and the innovative processes we are using in our teaching.

'This is an exciting time for Dartmouth Academy.'