MOST of these children look glum, but they had no reason to be.

They had just beaten other schools in a science competition.

The pupils were all 11 years old and in Class J4 at Sandhills Primary School at Headington, Oxford.

Schools were challenged to “measure a distance” in a competition set by the Oxford Science Centre for primary schools in the area in 1972.

A total of 11 schools entered and most were fairly unadventurous, simply measuring a distance from A to B.

However, Sandhills children went that extra mile and decided to measure just how high a person’s body rises when he or she does the high jump.

The findings were then included in a book entitled Bottoms Up.

The measurement they came up with was not re-vealed when the Oxford Mail published a story on their investigation, but the initiative they showed was warmly applauded by the judges.

They awarded the school first prize.

The pupils later gathered in the school hall to receive the rewards — a cheque for £25 and books worth a similar amount from Oxford firms that had sponsored the competition.

Pictured above with Class J4 after the prize presentation are Roger Webb, an editor in the education department at the Clarendon Press, and Lucas Tooth, from Telsec, representing the companies that were among those which gave prizes.

They are seen holding a copy of Bottoms Up.

We don’t have the names of any of the children in the photo line-up. Can anyone tell us?