Balloon ride to reward students

A group of students from a Derby school were taken on a hot air balloon ride to reward them for their achievements.

The 150 pupils from Merrill College were chosen because they had "achieved something this year".

The balloon was tethered to a tree and a few vehicles to keep it grounded while four students at a time went up about 100ft (30m) in the air.

Assistant Principle Mike Sykes said it "went down a storm" when the school organised the event four years ago.

Lucky draw

"We thought we would try it again," said Mr Sykes.

"It's a wonderful way of rewarding their achievements."

The students were "set a challenge" about a month ago with the reward of a hot air balloon ride to motivate them, Mr Sykes said.

There was a lucky draw of the 400 who accomplished the tasks, and 150 were picked to glimpse a view of Derby from the air.