THOUSANDS looked to the sky to catch a glimpse of the solar eclipse on Friday morning and, although clouds meant few in Wharfedale got a perfect view, the event proved a spectacular sight.

The partial eclipse, in which around 90 per cent of the sun was obscured by the moon, was the first on this scale since 1999. It will be 2029 before the next one and more than 70 years until a total eclipse.

There was a huge sense of excitement among students at Ilkley Grammar School and Ilkley’s Westville House School.