A UNIQUE project by pupils of Ringwood School to bring the wonders of underwater life into the classroom has been such a success that it could extend to other local schools and even spread across the country.

Pupils at the school have successfully reared trout, from eggs to fry, in an initiative introduced by the Wessex Salmon and Rivers Trust.

The project began last March and now the young fish have been released into the wild in a lake near Ringwood.

The Ringwood School experiment has exceeded all expectations, proving the project could be a valuable educational tool.

Pupils, under the guidance of Ringwood teacher and angler Peter Reading, gained useful knowledge about aquatic life and a greater understanding of the value and importance of rivers, not just today, but for future generations.

The trust said that, together with its sponsor, supermarket giant Tesco, the project is to be enlarged to include more schools in the Wessex area.

A spokesman for the trust said that, during the coming year, they hoped to see six further schools, which have expressed an interest, taking part in the project.

Eventually, it is hoped to see the project adopted nationally and forming part of the school curriculum.