We ‘Learn about Livestock’ with Ursula and her lambs Xanthe and Zelda

We ‘Learn about Livestock’ with Ursula and her lambs Xanthe and Zelda

We were delighted to be selected as one of fourteen schools across Norfolk and Suffolk to look after a ewe and her lambs for a week. The initiative, run by The Food and Farming Discovery Trust and in association with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership and Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, offers children the chance to learn about animal husbandry and to engage schools in food and farming education; it, also, improves children’s confidence in exploring new experiences, supports their communication when talking about their learning and gives them the chance to nurture the animals in their care.

Ewe, Ursula, with her two adorable lambs, Xanthe and Zelda, who were born on the 22nd February, joined us at the beginning of the week and the children quickly embraced their presence, sharing out the feeding duties across the Pre Prep classes and learning all about sheep, wool and farming in their lessons. Mid-week, we welcomed their owner and farmer, Mrs Newman, to speak to the children about her farm and lamb rearing as well as to explain what the fleece of the sheep are used for. In Art, the children produced a range of fantastic sheep inspired artwork and in Maths, they used weighing scales to accurately weigh out Ursula’s feed.

As well as bringing learning to ‘life’, it was an extremely positive experience for all of the children to simply enjoy the animals’ presence; the pupils, in Prep and Pre Prep, were excited each day to see the sheep and to witness how the lambs grew under Ursula’s watchful care and increased in confidence over the course of their week with us.  We hope to catch up with Ursula, Xanthe and Zelda at the Royal Norfolk Show in June.

Baa bye sheep, for now. We loved every second of welcoming you into the Town Close flock.