Hornchurch pupils battled it out to be Kings and Queens of the castle in an annual building competition.

Pupils studying history at The Albany School were given six weeks to design and create castles in groups or on their own as part of their studies on Medieval History and had just completed a unit about castles.

Heather Gubbins, head of the history department, said: “The standard of entries was amazing. The work and ingenuity that had gone into the designs and construction had resulted in some fantastic examples of medieval castles and had helped to bring the subject to life.”

There were 20 winners who took home prizes for categories including: best motte and bailey; best square keep, most historically accurate, best team effort; and most inventive design.

Joseph Fitzpatrick, 12, who won first prize for most Historically Accurate said “I thoroughly enjoyed making my castle. It was great to put into practice what we had learnt in the classroom.”