5 minute read
The great outdoors
STUART DOUCH, Headmaster of Sompting Abbotts Prep School in West Sussex explains how the school’s access to a rich variety of nature not only enhances the whole curriculum, it also instils pupils with an understanding of ecological and ethical responsibility
If children lose contact with the natural world, they won’t ght for it in the future. is has long been our grass-roots ethos. e climate emergency has only underlined the importance of learning about sustainability. Too many children, these days are losing touch with nature. A great many are more familiar with Pokémon and Minecra characters, than species of British wildlife.
Not so at Sompting Abbotts, which is set within 30 acres of mature woodland, chalk grassland and ponds inside the South Downs National Park. e children’s play area is green open space, which they’re allowed to roam. ey have trees to climb (positively encouraged, with a few height rules!), squirrels to spot, and fresh air to breathe. inking green is part of everyday life at the school and extends through all key stages. Playing to children’s fascination with nature makes it easy to teach green issues to them.
Here, nature immersion means they get to do lots of the ‘old-fashioned’ stu children love most. Like den-building, making daisy chains or hunting for the shiniest conker. In fact, our annual Golden Conker competition is a big event!
Children in the pre-prep have regular Forest School-style outings to the woods. “From the nursery stage, our children collect wood to build their own res and make tools from natural materials,” says Head of Pre-Prep, Kirsty Miles. at’s rain or snow: “ e weather doesn’t stop us. We simply wrap up in waterproofs and put our wellies on!”
“ ey dig in the mud, identify insects with magnifying glasses and iPads, and learn to recognise plant and leaf shapes. In the spring, we grab nets and use our big pond for wet habitat science learning to discover water boatmen, tadpoles and dragon y nymphs. s
THE CHILDREN’S PLAY AREA IS A GREEN OPEN SPACE, which they’re allowed to roam. They have trees to climb, SQUIRRELS TO SPOT, AND FRESH AIR TO BREATHE
The school’s stunning grounds help to bring the curriculum to life
Yes, our children do get messy; they get stung by nettles and get clothes caught on brambles. But it’s all part of developing resourcefulness, resilience and autonomy.” ese are the kind of lessons the children will always remember, says Mrs Miles. “To be able to take my class outside to marvel at the bee swarm or frog spawn just can’t be matched by watching a YouTube clip.” e school has an apple orchard, an Edwardian greenhouse and a vegetable garden. Here, the children grow organic tomatoes, broad beans, peas, onions and peppers for their home-cooked lunches.
Sompting Abbotts Prep is somewhere where teachers o en say: “Let’s take this lesson outside in the sun today.” e grounds and their multiple habitats are perfect for bringing all kinds of curriculumbased learning to life, whether that’s handson science, geography and art, or for other curriculum applications, such as eld study and data collection.
Even our pre-prep sta , for example, will use the orchard’s windfall apples and plums for numeracy lessons. e school’s green approach was noted in its recent ISI report. “Outdoors is seen as the children’s world,” it observed.
“ e excellent opportunities o ered by the extensive grounds and gardens mean that they can, for example, climb the apple trees every day, see them blossom and come into fruit, lose their leaves and then bud again, and they enjoy eating the apples in the autumn.”
Properly taught climate change education should be a thread through all subjects – not just science and geography. at’s from the food miles of the lunch ingredients used in the kitchen to debates on humanitarian issues such as mass migration in religious education or PSHE education.
Last term, the school unveiled a brand new bench in its grounds made from of eco-bricks as part of a school-wide collection campaign. e bricks were made from plastic bottles, packed solid with wrappers and packaging that we all collected. Seeing how much waste we create was, I think, sobering for us all.
At Sompting Abbotts, thinking green and celebrating the wonder of nature is simply ‘what we do’. But as an ethos, we believe it is powerful. Our pupils have the future of the planet in their hands.
Twitching is now a popular pastime at the school
BIRDWATCHING WITH MR B
Buzzards and skylarks and linnets, oh my! Mr Buckingham leads ornithology learning at the school
“My children can now identify sparrow hawks and buzzards. They know the sound of a Song Thrush and blackbirds,” wrote a parent in the school’s latest satisfaction survey.
That’s down to teacher ‘Mr B’ (David Buckingham, B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and RSPB life member).
His form goes out for Tweet of the Day bird-watching outings each day before assembly. They have binoculars, recording equipment and notebooks in tow.
There are plenty of South Downs birds for them to spot in the grounds – from wrens to skylarks to linnets to buzzards, plus barn owls nesting in the school’s old outhouses.
“The children love dissecting their regurgitated pellets,” says Mr B. “They usually contain the remains of four or five small mammals!”
He focuses on identifying birds by their calls and songs. “Since a lot of the children study musical instruments here, they have a pretty good recall,” he says.
“I also use onomatopoeic phrases to help the memory process which links in to English lessons; e.g. chi cha calls its name and the jackdaw says ‘jack’.
“I often use the bird apps on my phone to reinforce the learning process or watch a little bit of video when we get back to the classroom.
“I don’t want it to sound like a lesson. Birdwatching is just a wonderful way to start the day in nature and understand the connectedness of everything.”
