Front Page News

Y8 maths students had the opportunity to visit Oathall Farm this term to meet the new lambs as part of their subject focus on data.

In the sessions run by Farm Education & Engagement Officer Mx Sveinsson and the Mathematics department in the last two weeks, students were able to discuss what data is recorded from the flock and how it informs their care, as well as seeing how the new lambs are weighed.

These sessions provided a great opportunity for students to ask questions about the flock, the other animals on the farm, and animal husbandry as a whole.

Sessions like these demonstrate what a vital resource the Farm provides the school, and highlights some of the cross curricular learning that is undertaken.

Lambing season has been a great success for us this year.

We’re delighted to have welcomed 14 healthy lambs to the flock – 4 boys and 10 girls.

It’s been a very busy but rewarding time, and we’re so pleased to see them all thriving and full of energy.

A huge thank you to Chris and Clara, who have worked incredibly hard throughout lambing to make sure everything ran smoothly and that both ewes and lambs were well cared for.

Towards the end of last term our Y11 Animal Care class welcomed some tiny new additions into the world of Oathall Farm. Eleven Indian stick insect nymphs – which you might be able to see in the photos above if you look closely – were successfully hatched from eggs that students Harry B and Harry T have been carefully tending to over the last five months. The Harrys, also pictured, could be considered proud grandparents, as the new babies represent the second generation of stick insects they have collected and hatched while at Oathall.

Our bushel – the collective noun for stick insects – of Indian stick insects are all female, and naturally lay eggs continuously without male involvement in a process called parthenogenesis. Their eggs need a careful balance of heat and humidity for the next 3-6 months before they hatch, and the young nymphs will eat privet, bramble and ivy leaves as they moult and mature into adults.

As Indian stick insects only live for a year, we are immensely proud of our students for having a hand in nurturing the next generation of nymphs for future students to appreciate.