Children at Hillside First School in Verwood came eye-to-eye with a pair of reindeer, Jingles and Prancer.

Tracy Pearson from the Parent Teacher Association organised the visit from N&J Heavy Horses in Burley.

The youngsters learned about the breed and when asked what reindeer needed big feet for, they answered ‘for flying’.

Headteacher Dave Graves said: “This was a wonderful experience for the children who had heard all about reindeer of course, but had not necessarily ever seen one.

“The people who brought them were excellent and gave out lots of information and the children were really engaged.”

Hillside First School is part of Initio Learning Trust whose chief executive Liz West said: “What a wonderful experience for the children – it is something they’ll remember for a long time.

“I’m sure there was a great deal of excitement when the reindeer arrived.

“And it is great that the PTA organised the visit – parents perform a very special role across all our schools and were very grateful to them.”