Compared to most other creatures in the animal kingdom they probably wouldn't win any beauty contests.
But Winston and his friends proved to be a huge hit with children at Toftwood Infant School who could not have been more excited to meet them.
Winston is a bearded dragon and together with Taco the corn snake, Mildred the millipede, Michelle the giant African land snail, and others, they were brought into school by their owner Ed Mackay from Norwich-based creepy crawly roadshow Mini Monsters to teach the youngsters about minibeasts and their habitats.
The school, near Dereham, is currently running a science enrichment and exploration week which also includes a visit from a meterologist and a biologist from the John Innes Centre.
The children were allowed to handle most of the creatures while Mr Mackay talked about where they come from, their habitats and how they adapt to their environments, and what they like to eat.
Winston was a clear favourite with the children, happily posing with them so they could get up close.
Arachnophobe Kirsty Drew, who is science lead teacher, faced her fears by holding Trinny the tarantula and said: 'It was a lot less scary than I thought it would be but I wanted to show the children that you don't need to be afraid.'
She said their first science enrichment week was proving to be a huge success.
'We had a British values week last year but this year the curriculum is more focused on science - testing, evaluating and asking questions - so that is why we chose the science theme this year,' she said. 'The children have been so excited and have had big smiles on their faces.'
Headteacher Joanna Pedlow said: 'It's wonderful to be able to offer such exciting opportunities and visitors to the children to extend their knowledge and interests.
'It's all about inspiring the children to learn and want to learn more across the curriculum.'
Many parents have joined in with activities including mini-beast hunting, using green screen technology to forecast the weather and using digital microcopes.
* What is your school doing? Email kathryn.cross@archant.co.uk.
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