Visitors to Felmores Primary School could be forgiven for thinking they’d stumbled into Cornwall’s lush Eden Project by mistake.

The school in Pitsea now has two large solar domes in its grounds.

One of the domes contains a tropical garden where pupils have already planted olive, orange and lemon trees.

The other is capable of housing an entire class for lessons.

Pam Davies, spokesman for the school, said: “The pupils are very excited. They have played a big part in decorating the classroom dome.”

The ambitious project – costing more than £100,000 – has been made possible thanks to support from the environmental arts company Circling the Square and the educational organisation Creative Partnerships, Thames Gateway, as well as waste firm Veolia.

Yesterday, the ambitious scheme finally came to fruition when the school’s former headteacher, Janet Upton, returned to see her dream project become a reality.

Miss Davies added: “It was Janet who got the project off the ground and we wanted her to be the one to come back to school and officially open the domes. We have a lovely morning and Janet was amazed to see just how big the domes have turned out to be.”

The design process saw Felmores staff taking part in research trips to the Eden Project in Cornwall and Writtle Horticultural College in Chelmsford.

The tropical dome features a variety of green initiatives, including irrigation features such as a solar-powered water fountain and heating system.

A glass tunnel walkway provides an entrance to the two domes, which are made out of toughened glass.

The second dome has space for a wide range creative learning activities, including cultivation of plants and herbs, creative classes and interactive exhibitions.