The coldest winter in memory was not enough to put pupils and parents off getting their skates on last weekend when Christ Church School, New Malden, hosted the town’s first ice rink.

The brainchild of the school’s PTA, about 300 tickets for skating sessions on Saturday, February 13, sold out days in advance.

Slippy the giant polar bear joined children on the rink, which was built in the playground on Friday afternoon, as the school closed for the half term break.

PTA committee member Jo Hudson said: “With the Olympics just around the corner, and the success of the current celebrity TV show Dancing on Ice, we felt it was a great time to get everyone out of their comfort zone and on to the ice.”