WILLY Wonka, James and his Giant Peach and Matilda were among the Roald Dahl characters brought to life by Newton Poppleford Primary School pupils last week.

WILLY Wonka, James and his Giant Peach and Matilda were among the Roald Dahl characters brought to life by Newton Poppleford Primary School pupils last week. The youngsters dressed up as the famous author's creations as part of National Children's Book Week.

Around �60 was raised for Mary's Meals, a charity which provides meals for 375,000 children around the world.

As well as wearing fancy dress, the little ones also read their favourite Roald Dahl books and decorated the hall using the same theme as inspiration.

Harriet Coogan, literacy coordinator, said: "The children had a fantastic time. They all participated in the fancy dress theme and it was a really good atmosphere.

"Besides good fun, it also allowed the children to analyse the characters and get a better understanding of the books.