Excitement over the impending Olympic Games hit fever pitch at a south Norfolk school last week as students tried their hand at a range of sports which will feature at London 2012.

The timetable at Old Buckenham High School, near Attleborough, was wiped clean so youngsters could receive a day of expert tuition in 20 activities, including fencing, judo and handball.

Top coaches from clubs across the county commandeered classrooms to teach students the basics of their sports, while some children were taken off the school grounds to locations where they could sample other kinds of activities such as mountain biking at Thetford Forest and water sports at Whitlingham Country Park, near Norwich.

About 350 pupils from Years 7 to 9 took part, with about 270 receiving sports coaching and others creating posters and brochures about the history of the Olympic Games for use in lessons.

Old Buckenham High, which earned specialist sports status last year, is part of the Get Set network - a community of schools and colleges which promote the values surrounding the Olympic Games and use the build-up to the prestigious event as a way to inspire learning.

Andy Dwight, head of PE, who organised the special day with school sports co-ordinator Rosemary Bloom, said: 'We want pupils of this school to take an interest in a healthy lifestyle. Young children can be turned off from sport because it's always just rugby or hockey. Today they can try something different.

'We're not going to create Olympians within our classes but we're looking at the long term. If only a small percentage of pupils from today decide to take up the sports and join a club, then it will have been a success.'

Sporting achievers were also be rewarded on Monday during a presentation evening where Paralympic athlete Danny Nobbs will be the guest speaker.