Yate secondary school creates outdoor classroom

Brimsham Green School, on Broad Lane, is embarking on a new project involving the creation of an outdoor classroom for students to use during lessons.

Once the ‘Outdoor Literacy Project’ is created, in a woodland clearing on the school site, it will be used in a series of pilot English lessons and will be available for all departments.

English teacher Daniel Fox, who is running the project, said: “The initial focus is on using the space to provide physical, tactile and kinaesthetic experiences for students in order to improve their written descriptive skills.

“The intention is to provide a richer source of experiences that can be turned into detailed written expression as well as to foster a better connection with the local natural environment.

“I’ve believed since I was a student 20 years ago that education should be a little more varied. The outdoors is under-used by schools, especially secondary schools.

“Forest school sessions are relatively common in primary schools now, but not in secondary schools, largely because of exam pressures. The project is also a reaction to the insufficient provision for students who find a normal school environment difficult.

"This does not just mean students at risk of exclusion, it means those who are frustrated and just want a change.”

The funding for the project has been provided by a joint effort between the Chipping Sodbury Rotary Club and the Yate Rotary Club.

Mr Fox added: “The school is very grateful for the funding.

"Our caretakers have also put in some hard graft. It will, we hope, offer our students a more varied experience at school and particularly in English.”

"Clearance work started on the site over Christmas and the school is now at the stage of constructing the fire-pit, the benches and table, with pilot sessions aimed to begin next month.

"At the moment there’s not much to see, but in a few weeks’ time it will be up and running and filled with children."