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A school trip to remember when The Rock showed up

A selfie-style image taken by The Rock – a man wearing glasses and smiling. Next to and behind him is a group of schoolchildren. They are cheering, smiling and shouting. They are wearing red and white school uniforms.Disney

The children said they were left "speechless" when they met The Rock

Primary school pupils had a day they will never forget when they met film star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson during a school trip to London.

About 50 children from the school in Suffolk travelled to the capital city on Tuesday for a special Moana event by the River Thames.

The pupils, who are in Years 3 and 4, had already caught The Rock's attention earlier this year when, in January, they made a video for social media, hoping the actor would see it.

After seeing the pupils' video, The Rock sent them a message. He said he was "so moved" by what they had made and promised to rent out a cinema so the children, their friends and families could watch the new live-action Moana film.

A woman and a man standing on top of a rock in front of a tree. To the right of the picture is a group of schoolchildren wearing red uniforms. They are standing behind a rope. In the distance is a bridge.Reuters

The Rock and Catherine Laga'aia (who plays Moana) appeared at a Moana Experience event in London

A group of schoolchildren wearing red uniforms standing in front of The Rock – a man wearing a cream jumper and white trousers and sunglasses.Joshua Falcon/BBC

The Rock plays Maui in both the animated Moana movie and now in the live-action release of the film. Maui is a powerful shape-shifting demigod with a giant magical hook who helps Moana on her adventure.

Near to London's famous Tower Bridge, at an event promoting the film, the pupils got to meet their movie hero in person.

"It was awesome [to meet them] and they were losing their minds and going bonkers and going crazy," The Rock told the BBC.

"That's the fun part of fame and the best part of fame. This kind of stuff is important."

The school head teacher, Daniel Woodrow, said the day was "incredible".

One pupil said: "It was the best day ever."

"All of us were all really excited and some of us got high fives from him, and he made sure we all enjoyed the time [with him].

"When he came round the corner we were speechless and, like, 'Is that actually Dwayne Johnson?'"