A plot of land on our Academy site has been developed into an exciting new learning environment which takes a unique hands-on approach to teaching subjects such as Maths, Science, Geography, Enterprise and Art. At 'Forest School', students learn through a wide range of innovative projects which are all linked to gardening and the environment.

Our Forest School is run by Mr Blackburn, one of our dedicated Learning Support Assistants, who completed the Level 3 Forest School Leader course via OASES (Outdoor and Sustainability Education Specialists). The initiative was originally developed for a small group of Nurture students in Years 7-10, however the rapidly-developing garden area is now receiving a great deal of attention from students who want to get involved, including our Sixth Formers.

As you might expect, Forest School gives students the opportunity to get outdoors and develop their knowledge in Biology and Geography by growing flowers, plants and vegetables, observing insects and birds and studying eco-systems and sustainability. However, students also develop mathematical and enterprise skills via a range of construction projects including building raised beds, planters, fencing and furniture, which all require accurate measurement and calculation, and budgeting for materials.

Of course, Forest School is also an excellent environment for building confidence and personal skills in communication and team working. Participants have a great sense of achievement as they watch the garden take shape and they are now beginning to develop lots of new ideas for the future, including the installation of a pond and a shelter for those times when the weather is not on their side!

Local residents and businesses alike have shown their support for the initiative by making donations. Individual members of the public donated our garden shed, poly tunnel and paving slabs, and their generosity resulted in a considerable saving which allowed us to buy timber and fixings to build fencing and raised beds. Homebase kindly donated the fence paint to treat our shed and fencing, Asda donated some plants and garden tools and Morrison's provided a selection of seeds.

This year, alongside further expansion of our Forest School site, Mr Blackburn hopes to re-establish working links with the Auckland Project's "Incredible Edible" scheme, which was sadly brought to a halt due to Covid-19. Launched by the village of Todmorden in 2008, Incredible Edible encourages people to transform unused space in their local community into vegetable plots and havens for wildlife. Our Academy was keen to get involved with a view to being able to donate our school-grown produce to local charity,"Feeding Families", which aims to alleviate food poverty by providing food boxes to those who need it most.

If you would like to support our Forest School, we are always on the look out for donations of clean timber and fixings for construction projects, firewood and logs, seeds and plants, plant pots, gardening tools and decorative stones etc. Please email david.blackburn@kingjames1academy.com