The 100th birthday of natural world television legend Sir David Attenborough is being celebrated in style at Anstey Junior School in Alton.

Sir David will reach his centenary on May 8 - and the activities to mark the occasion all began with some blank brickwork.

School governor Heather Eastman said: “Our school council asked all pupils to vote on a theme for a plain wall, as it had been identified as something pupils thought needed cheering up.”

The school council brought in Basingstoke artist Sian Storey to paint the outlines of a turtle and its marine environment in blue on a white background - then let the children add the colour with help from Sian.

Sian has art education qualifications and regularly works with schools and communities on inspiring murals.

Mrs Eastman added: “What a brilliant experience for all pupils, and a beautiful mural to enjoy - especially as we approach the 100th birthday of David Attenborough, who famously said ‘If we save the sea, we save our world’.”

This week pupils planted sunflowers for a class sunflower competition and did some planting in their sensory garden in planters created by the Alton Men’s Shed - and there is more to come on Sir David’s big day.

Mrs Eastman concluded: “The whole school is going to come together to plant a tree on David Attenborough’s birthday - and we will be singing Happy Birthday!”

David Attenborough redefined television programmes about the natural world with his epic 13-part BBC series Life On Earth in 1979.

He condensed the Earth’s more than 4.5 billion years of existence into a single year - and made everybody feel insignificant by pointing out that humans appeared at 11.40pm on December 31!

BBC1 is broadcasting a 90-minute tribute to him - called David Attenborough’s 100 Years on Planet Earth - at 8.30pm on May 8.