Unique samples of moon rock and a chunk of Mars landed at Newent Community School last week.

Pupils were even invited to handle some of the exhibits from the cold reaches of space.

The precious samples were provided by the UK's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Centre (PPARC).

The event was organised by the school's head of physics, Edward Taylor, and certainly gave pupils much to think about.

Physics teacher John Goodchild, who presented a lesson on the rocks to a Year 7 class, said: "The pupils were very interested and enjoyed talking about the moon and how the craters were formed. "They particularly liked handling some of the meteorites, but couldn't touch the moon rocks as they were encased in plastic because they are so valuable."

The moon rocks were all collected during NASA's famous missions over three decades ago.

A total of 382kgs of moon rocks were brought back and remain some of the most valuable material on earth.

PPARC offers the short-term loans of lunar and meteorite material, free of charge, to educational and scientific establishments.