SCHOOL and nursery pupils celebrated the merger of Elms Road Nursery and Botley Primary School with a visit from animal expert James McKay.

The CBBC star brought an eagle to meet the children and long-serving school volunteer Ted Lainchbury at the school in Elms Road on Wednesday. Mr Lainchbury, of Botley, has been helping out at the school his three children and one of his grandchildren attended by doing odd repair jobs for 40 years.

The 83-year-old said: “I find helping here gives me a bit of purpose in life and allows me to put something back.”

The children were fascinated by the bird of prey. He said: “One or two were a little bit frightened, but a lot of them wanted to get up close and they responded well to it.”