Pupils and staff at a west Oxfordshire school turned out the lights and switched off their computers to see if they could survive a day without electricity.

Clanfield Primary School, near Witney, which has Eco School status for its efforts to save energy, took part in the experiment on FridaySept 22 to see how many watts they could save in a school day.

Classrooms were illuminated by natural light and the traditional end-of-the-week 'happy half-hour' treat, playing games on computers, was replaced with board games.

The children also visited nearby Friar's Court, a former farm which has been converted into a demonstration eco-house with solar panels and a small wind turbine, to learn about energy saving.

On the day, Year 10 pupil Lucy Snell, 10, said: "I'm finding it quite hard, but I think I can manage it.

"It's a bit dark in the classroom, but it's not too bad."

Eight-year-old Thomas Jones added: "It's a bit strange but it's OK. I think more than a day would become a bit difficult, because I like playing on the computers and smart boards.

"I'm going to try to keep it up for the rest of today when I get home."

But it wasn't only the children who had to manage without electricity, as the staff had to do without the photocopier, phones and fax machine.

Secretary Nicola Graham said: "I can't fax, can't email, can't do anything. It makes you realise how much you take for granted things like receiving a fax.

"It definitely makes you stop and think and use your brain a bit more, because you have to use pen and paper as opposed to a spreadsheet."

Not having white board technology - an interactive screen linked to a computer - to help teach lessons meant teachers had to resort to marker pens and paper in lessons. But that wasn't their only frustration.

Healthy schools coordin- ator Mandy Warwick, who came up with the idea with the children, said: "The whole point of the day was to make us all aware of how much energy we use. The children found it fun, especially when it was dark.

"Mind you, if it continued for the next few days and they were unable to use the computers, I think they would find it hard.

"I think it's an excellent way for the children to really see how much energy we actually use.

"Some of them have taken it really seriously, not using their electric toothbrushes and having cereal instead of cooked food for their breakfast."