EAGER young wildlife fans from a Marlow school went to St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Aylesbury to get a closer look at animals.

The Children, from Marlow C of E Infant School, in Sandygate Road, took two trips to the hospital in April to find out more about animals they had studied in class, including the lifestyles of hedgehogs and badgers.

The school has two environmental groups in years one and two, which were taken to the hospital as part of their after school activities in the afternoon.

Roxanne Bligh, environment support worker for the school, said: "It was a wonderful trip. We decided to take the children to a place that looks after and cares for the badgers and the other wildlife. There were lots of different types of breeds and the children were shown all sorts of animals."

The school helped pay for the two trips by staging a range of fundraising activities, including a cake sale and a bear cave in the hall, where children paid 10p to enter a "bear-like" environment with sound effects and factual displays.