Primary school pupils had the surprise of their lives when a trip to London turned into a face-to-face red-carpet meeting with wrestler-turned-Hollywood megastar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

About 50 students from St Gregory Primary School in Sudbury, Suffolk, went to the capital on Tuesday for what they believed would be a standard “old-fashioned” excursion.

Little did they know they would be attending the Moana Experience, an immersive event organised in support of the upcoming live action adaption of the hit 2016 film.

Better still, the Years 3 and 4 students also got to meet Maui himself.

“It was awesome [to meet them] and they were losing their minds and going bonkers and going crazy,” he told the BBC.

“That’s the fun part of fame and the best part of fame. This kind of stuff is important.”

The star-studded encounter, at Potters Field Park next to the River Thames, was arranged by Disney and the school’s headteacher, Daniel Woodrow.

They collaborated after the pupils recorded a social media video in January in the hope of getting The Rock’s attention.

Woodrow had told pupils that if the former WWE star saw the clip, he would take them to see the new Moana film for their end-of-year school trip.

It quickly went viral and succeeded in catching the attention of the actor, who sent back a video message promising to hire out a cinema for them and their friends and family to watch the film.

The 54-year-old also offered to pay for their sweets and snacks.

In The Rock’s four-minute video, he added that he was “so moved” by the clip and it was “so cool” for them to attempt to contact him.

“I heard you guys were super, super pumped and excited to see live action Moana, so I’m going to find a theatre, rent it out, and you guys are going to see Moana,” he told them.

“Love you guys, keep doing great in school and, as Maui says, ‘You’re welcome’.”

Speaking to the BBC at the event on Tuesday, Woodrow said: “For the biggest movie star on the planet to spend so much time with the children… that was incredible, and you could see how excited they were.

“He said happy birthday to someone… and he took a video with them, so the children have all been in a movie with Dwayne Johnson now, which is incredible.

“It’s been an amazing day. At the start of the day the children had no idea it was even going to happen, so it makes it even more special.”

Aside from meeting their idol and other stars of the film, the students got to explore a Motunui paradise and enjoy activities and Moana-themed food and drink.

There was also a replica of Maui’s 6m-long hook alongside a “breathtaking re-creation” of Moana’s canoe.

Unsurprisingly, meeting The Rock went down just as well with the students as it did with their headteacher.

One of them 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?'”

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