Farm

Before May half-term, Oathall Farm had the pleasure of hosting a group of excited pre-school learners from Hedgehogs and Badgers Nursery School.

Farm Education and Engagement Officer Mx Sveinsson delivered a session highlighting the life cycles of frogs and sheep, where the group were able to observe and ask questions about the natural habitat of our recently restored school pond as well as the baby lambs frolicking in the adjacent field.

It is a delight to host educational visits from our community here at Oathall Farm, and we are privileged to be able to highlight the amazing learning opportunities that can be found outside of the classroom. We look forward to welcoming Hedgehogs and Badgers back in the future!

The end of last month was a busy one, as we welcomed pupils from both Lindfield Primary Academy and Blackthorns Community Primary Academy to visit Oathall Farm.

Lindfield Primary’s three classes of Reception pupils had the opportunity to meet some of the animals to bring to life their learning about animal life cycles, with sessions designed and run by our Farm Education & Engagement Officer Mx Sveinsson. The pupils clearly enjoyed the chance to meet, handle and assist in the feeding of our chickens, pigs, new lambs and more during their visit.

One particular highlight was when Dottie – one of our pigs – drew attention from a small group of pupils as she luxuriated in a muddy puddle, only to get out and shake herself off over everyone in the near vicinity!

Blackthorns Primary’s Y2 class were welcomed back to Oathall to follow up on their previous visit. They were especially excited to meet and assist in the feeding of the boisterous sheep with their lambs, and as part of their focus on plants had the opportunity to learn about the life cycles of Oathall’s historic oak trees.

Inviting our local primary schools to visit the farm reminds us of what an essential and unique resource this is to both our students and the local community.

We look forward to welcoming them back soon.

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.

Eight juvenile chickens were recently introduced to Oathall Farm and they are thriving in their new environment, with some laying already.

Pictured here are Y10 volunteer feeders, Lillie-Rose, Eleanor and Megan who we are are indebted to for their enthusiasm and support on the Farm.

The chickens are settling well into the new chicken area, envisioned and created by Clara Farmer (Senior Farm Technician) and Chris Candy (Farm Technician). The chickens are especially enjoying the variety of enrichment features, and can be seen foraging near habitat piles, resting on their log perches and even balancing on their tree swing!

There are now 10 chickens on the Farm with breeds ranging from Speckedly Gold to Amber Star.

Last month Oathall Farm had the pleasure of another visit from Blackthorns Community Primary Academy.

Following a Reception visit last December, a class of Y2s were given the opportunity to meet, feed and handle a variety of Oathall’s animals while learning about their different life cycles and needs.

The group were very courageous and respectful learners, with quite a few expressing how excited they were to visit a farm for the first time. What was also really lovely was that for some of the supporting adults this wasn’t their first visit to the farm, with some having attended Oathall as children.

It was a delight to host Blackthorns again and we look forward to inviting them back, potentially in the Spring with the arrival of our new lambs.

It was heart-warming to receive the beautifully decorated thank you cards from the children that visited. They were particularly keen on Pete the Pond’s parrot – who was on the premises completing the pond restoration – but Mango is not a resident of the Farm!

It was a busy week on the Farm last week, with Pete the Pond’s team completing the pond restoration on time despite some challenges including the discovery of a brick wall in the foundations and continued abject weather most of the week!

Tuesday’s and Thursday’s Farm Club groups enjoyed listening to Pete and meeting his parrot Mango. They learnt about the animals that enjoy this habitat – including dragon and damselflies and also got hands on building a hibernaculum for amphibians.

The local wildlife has already started settling into the renovated habitat, with a couple of smooth newts spotted in the hibernaculum piles established earlier in the week.

The pond has been transformed and is another unique asset for the school which many students will enjoy learning from for many years to come.