THE traditional autumn pastime of conkers in the school playground is alive and well at St Barnabas, Drakes Broughton, where headmaster Charlie Lupton enjoys a game himself.

He pointed out: "We are aware of the Health and Safety implications. The children are always under the supervision of staff while playing conkers and shown how to stand at 90 degrees to each other to avoid swinging conkers directly towards an opponent."

Mr Lupton said; "Conkers are a natural product and we try to encourage children to play games in the playground. Traditional games, unfortunately, tend to be dying out in school playgrounds and so we like to encourage them."