CHILDREN who collected 1,000 conkers when they were learning about the First World War have been turning them into jewellery and models.

Pupils at Allerton Primary School have been taught how youngsters collected thousands of conkers in 1917 to help in the war effort.

Schools were asked to gather chestnuts for the production of acetone which was in short supply and used to make cordite, the propellant used to fire bullets and shells.

"The children then didn't know why they were collecting them and they were all taken to Norfolk," said a spokesman for the school, in Garforth Street.

"The pupils have absolutely loved collecting the conkers and making necklaces and little animals and counting them."

The school has also been preparing for Armistice Day by creating a display with poppies next to a plaque commemorating former pupils who died in the war.

Staff have also listed a former pupil on the Royal British Legion's Every Man Remembered website. The charity is working with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to keep alive the memory of those who died in WW1, for future generations.