Eleven-year-old Mason Goldring was very happy to play the part of the Archbishop of Canterbury, asking the new King to swear an oath, anointing him with oil and handing him his orb and sceptre before placing the crown on his head.

"I liked wearing the outfit and being the Archbishop," he said. "I do acting with a group called Spotlight in Sandown and we perform in Shanklin Theatre, so I like this kind of thing."

Freddie Derbyshire, 5, who played King Charles III, enjoyed the fact that all the pupils and staff bowed to him during their Coronation service. "The crown makes you feel very important," he said. "And I had to hold the orb and sceptre in one hand."

And Blossom Packham, 4, also enjoyed being Queen Camilla. "I like the outfit," she said. "I have queen and princess dresses at home. I'd like to be a queen in real life."

Sally Davies, churchwarden and school governor, said: "I felt it was important that the children knew the symbolism of all the items and the structure of the service, including the presentation, the oath, the anointing, the giving of the gold gifts and the crowning. We used children as the guides, so they could explain what everything meant.

"Year 5 wrote some beautiful prayers for the King. We had a special song, which encased the National Anthem in it. Our king and queen were five and four, but were absolutely regal in everything they did. And our Archbishop took his role very seriously.

"The links we have between the church and school mean that the children feel completely comfortable when they come to church - they call it 'our church'. They are there at Christmas, Easter or Harvest, they feel at home there with our church community."

Headteacher Elizabeth Chambers was delighted that the pupils had performed so well, and full of praise for those who had put it together.

"It was our school council who said they wanted to know more about the Coronation," she said. "And those pupils especially wanted to know more about the service that will take place in Westminster Abbey. So we worked with Sally to create a shortened version of the service. It helps them to understand the importance of God and the Christian faith as part of this event.

"Sally and the vicar Steve come in once a week, and the collective worship is a real team effort. I pick a theme or a value for us to focus on each half-term, and we work together to reinforce that. The children love having the team from Holy Trinity Church in, as they've built up a real relationship with them. Some of them know Sally, as she runs the Church Mice group for children at the church.

"For me, it's a real strength to have different voices communicating the same message - they hear about faith from church, home and in school."