TEACHERS and children went quackers on Friday April 5 for the Lacock School’s annual duck race.

Head teacher Richard Hearn tipped a plastic bag-full of 230 ducks into the river at The Bridge, near Cantax Hill.

The bright yellow ducks bobbed and weaved their way behind the houses through Lacock to the finishing line at the Lacock ford.

Simon Winfield, vice chair of the Lacock School governors, and a member of the Friends of Lacock School, said: “The children and their parents sponsor each duck in the race for £1, so we’ve raised £230 for school funds.”

Mr Hearn, who has been the school’s head teacher for the past six years, said: “It always creates a lot of fun and excitement for the children before we break up for Easter.”

The children and their parents raced through the National Trust village to watch the ducks cross the finishing line on the ledge of the ford.

The winning duck - number 13 - was sponsored by Astrid Cleverly, with Oliver Wills finishing second with duck number 41, and Jack Canham third with duck number 45.

Each of the lucky winners was presented with a large Easter egg.

Afterwards, the children and their parents were invited to look for hundreds of Easter Eggs in the garden of the nearby Red House, belonging to Mrs Jacqueline Naylor-Leyland.

Mrs Naylor-Leyland, 86, provides the eggs every year for the children to find.

She said: “I did it once and then found I could not stop. I love to watch the children looking for the eggs.”

Before the race, the children dressed in their Easter bonnets to attend an Easter service at St Cyriac’s Church in Lacock.