The children had to work hard to contain their excitement when they first heard the news just hours before they would be meeting a star of the big screen.

And in an afternoon none of them will forget, pupils from Year 7 upwards got to work with talented actor Chris Rankin, who plays Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter series.

Taking them through some of the most famous scenes from the first film, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, he gave the children tips and direction on their acting technique.

Bradley Prior (13), from Paston, got the honour of playing Harry. He said: “I felt a bit stupid acting in front of him at first, but I just got over it. I felt very excited when they told us he was coming. I was in my music class at the time.”

Arsala Shah (13), from Bretton, didn’t get to act, but said she really enjoyed the experience. She said: “It was really good. Hermione is my favourite character in the films.”

Arsala later got to speak to Chris during a question and answer session when she asked him, ‘what are the rest of the cast members like off set?’

Chris, who lived in Auckland, New Zealand, until he was six, often visits schools and universities to talk about acting and his career.

He was visiting the Voyager for the first time to take part in a documentary about the school and the Thomas Deacon Academy called the Children of the Revolution, being shown on ITV1 on December 20 at 7.30pm.

Chris, who said he would consider returning to the school in the future, added: “It’s been really good fun.

“It’s something I really enjoy doing because, had it not been for the drama department at my school, I would not be doing this. When I joined drama school I was really shy and quiet. But when my school put me in a production I really loved it.”

The producer of the documentary, Phil Johnson, was at the event and said: “Our program is all about the Voyager and Thomas Deacon. We have filmed the opening, right through to now.

“It’s a very impressive school. The film is to show the rest of the region what’s happening here and this is a new development which could be something that happens near them in the future.

“Today we have filmed the sports facilities and the climbing wall and of course Chris Rankin, which has been great.”

Chris was at the school for an entire afternoon of workshops and filming.