A TRIP of a lifetime to Iceland has given Runcorn schoolchildren some magical memories.

Students from Ormiston Bolingbroke Academy explored the country’s hot springs, cliffs, waterfalls and volcanoes.

The pupils even experienced a 3.6 magnitude earthquake!

Mike Chiles, head of geography, said: “This was a truly unbelievable trip our students will never forget.

“They had saved hard to be able to go to Iceland and every one of them was amazed by what they saw.

“We now look forward to discussing their experiences with the rest of our students in geography lessons and assemblies.”

Wearing crampons and carrying ice axes, pupils walked along a glacier and behind a waterfall.

They visited one of Iceland’s most famous black beaches with caves, arches, stacks, stumps and powerful sneaker waves, where they even saw seal hunting.

They discovered the Secret Lagoon, natural hot springs in a pool heated naturally by magma.

Steam rising in the air gave the place a magical feeling as the warm water stays at 38-40 degrees Celsius all year.

Students were fascinated to watch a little geyser which erupts every five minutes.

They also watched the Northern Lights dance across the sky.

Their adventure took them to Gulfoss waterfall, one of the largest in Iceland, followed by a trip to one of the country’s three national parks.

Geography teachers Andrew Colnnolly and Carl Butcher accompanied pupils on the trip with Mr Chiles.

Students saw the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a volcanic seam many thousands of miles long where magma can be seen from deep within the earth, creating a new crust and pushing tectonic plates apart.

At Thingvellier, a sweeping valley surrounded by majestic cliffs, pupils were able to put one foot in the North American plat and one foot on the Eurasian plate.