In pictures: University of Cambridge Primary School organises first Eddington Carnival

Additional reporting: Mike Scialom

An explosion of colour and outdoor fun hit the streets of Eddington for the first Eddington Carnival.

More than 650 pupils from the University of Cambridge Primary School and Coleridge Community College paraded through the streets on Friday, July 15, to celebrate the end of the school year, with rides and food contributing to a carnival atmosphere.

“The idea was to do something after being locked up for so long and I said ‘let’s take it to the streets’,” said Dr James Biddulph, headteacher of the University of Cambridge Primary School. “It was great to see Eddington residents waving and taking pictures from their balconies – it wasn’t quite Notting Hill but it had its moments and 300 or 400 parents came to watch us.”

The extraordinary vitality and variety of costumes was assisted by Cambridge artist and printmaker Federico Baca. “He was able to help with the big structures on the day like the Mexican influenced horse creature, and dreamcatcher costume worn by one of the adults,” Dr Biddulph said.

The day was themed around STEAM Week. Dr Biddulph added: “You may have heard of the STEM subjects and there’s also, in the academic world, something called STEAM – science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics – where creativity is a very key part of being a scientist and a mathematician.

“So it was a STEAM week, where creativity featured as learning about science, and each year group had a different topic – from photosynthesis to the structure of bubbles, to habitats and patterns in nature. Then in week two, they represented their learning through hat and costume-making with our art teacher, a local artist.”