PUPILS at a primary school in Wantage got up close and personal with real-life crocodiles.

Youngsters at Stockham Primary School, in Stockham Way, had a visit from the UK’s only crocodile zoo — Crocodiles of the World, in Brize Norton.

Keeper Terry Miles brought baby alligators and a two-year-old crocodile for children to hold.

They learned that crocodiles can hold their breath for up to four hours, have an extra tooth on their nose for breaking out of their shell and can spin around four times in a second to perform a “crocodile death roll”.

Faith Jones, five, said: “They had 80 teeth but they didn’t bite me.”

The visit happened after headteacher Ruth Burbank took her daughter to the crocodile zoo and conservation centre based near Brize Norton.

She said they had a great day meeting the animals and keepers, so when Mr Miles offered to bring the zoo to the school, she snapped up his offer.

Mrs Burbank said: “The children were awestruck. The presentation from Terry was inspiring and pitched perfectly for all our children and pre-school. We hope they will come next year too.”

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