VISITORS to William Stockton Primary School in Ellesmere Port have been amazed by the work done by children and staff to transform the school into a rainforest.

And the transformation, which included artwork, poetry and performances by the children, had an important message about the devastating impact of unsustainable palm oil production.Production of the oil, widely used as an ingredient in UK food and household items, is destroying rainforests in South East Asia, driving wildlife such as orangutans towards extinction.

The children got their message across in a fun way, with a tribal tunnel to crawl through and a selfie station with its own orangutan.

Visitors from the community were led around the exhibit by school ambassadors, with MP Justin Madders and representatives from the town’s Asda store saying they were overwhelmed by the experience.

Staff at the school tweeted: Thank you to everyone who came and supported our #wsandwmakethatchange work. We loved seeing you there; we are very proud of how the community has come together.”

Pupils from other schools, including Upton Heath Primary School in Chester and Wimboldsley Primary School in Middlewich, came to see the exhibition and join in the activities.

Mayor of Ellesmere Port Cllr Karen Shore said: “Fantastic work by William Stockton Primary School on the Chester Zoo sustainable palm oil project. Their work was outstanding and the ambassadors were a credit to the school.”

Visitors from Chester Zoo described the exhibit as “amazing”.

Davina Hein, who visited the exhibition with her mother, said: “My mum are I felt very emotional seeing the huge amount of dedication and passion from the students. Thank you to the whole school for a fantastic journey through the rainforest.”

Cllr Peter Rooney said: “Fantastic exhibition about de-forestation and palm oil production at William Stockton school. Very informative. Great work.”