DOWN Stow Hill they came, chanting slogans and waving banners and flags - dozens of Newport schoolchildren following the history-making footsteps of the Chartist campaigners of 1839.

The annual re-enactment of the march on Newport that ended in a volley of gunfire on the morning of November 4 171 years ago, leaving more than 20 Chartists dead and many injured outside the Westgate Hotel, is a vivid example of history being brought to life for youngsters.

Children from Newport's Malpas Court, St Woolos and Maindee primary schools, and from Monmouth Boys School marched from Newport Cathedral to the front of the hotel, the younger children taking the roles of the Chartists, the older boys the moneyed landowners and gentry against whom they were pitted.

Once outside the hotel the 'Chartist' youngsters recited a poem about their struggle before falling to the ground to mark the shooting.

Then several stood from among their fallen classmates and spoke out the name of one of those who died that day.

Julie Harrington, Year Four and Five teacher at Malpas Court school, said the children had enjoyed learning about the Chartists before the march and had enjoyed the experience.

"It's a great way to bring a very important piece of the history of Newport and the wider world to life for them," she said.

"We've done this a few times and they always get a lot out of it, even last year, when it was wet as well as cold."

The children's re-enactment is among a series of events taking place in and around the city this week during the Chartist Festival.

A second re-enactment takes place on Saturday in Westgate Square at 11am, and a Chartist convention will also be held that day, at St Mary's Institute, Stow Hill, noon-2pm.