News
Grape expectations: Sussex-based school has high hopes from this year’s vineyard harvest
Guestling school, Buckswood, has just taken delivery of a dry white and sparkling wine, made from grapes grown, nurtured and picked by students on the School’s very own vineyard located on the estate. Under the watchful eye and expert guidance of local award-winning wine producer Carr-Taylor Vineyards, this year’s wine (the second from the vineyard) is getting better with age and as the vines mature, the flavour of the wine improves. The vineyard was planted five years ago on the Guestling estate with the
grape variety ‘Ortega’ being selected with the aim of producing a dry white wine. Over the course of the last five years, with the variations in weather the vineyard has grown and established itself as a fine cropper, with the first harvest being turned into 500 bottles of a dry white last year and with a bumper harvest this year 750 bottles have been produced, which has been sold at various school events, with all the donations going to the school’s Swaziland charity which contributes towards water projects, education and healthcare in the Kingdom. In addition to the Ortega grapes, this year saw the planting of Pinot Noir
and Chardonnay varieties. So this year, the School has also produced its first sparkling white wine - 'Buckswood Bubbles'. Speaking about the project, Buckswood Headteacher Mark Redsell said
“Experience is the ‘Buckswood Difference’ and it is at the heart of everything we do, our sole aim is to produce young Ladies and Gentlemen that have an inner confidence and have a myriad of experiences that set them apart from their contemporaries. And so, the idea for the Buckswood Vineyard was born out of the combination of the excellent local grape growing conditions on our Sussex coastal estate and the desire to give all the Buckswood scholars yet another opportunity to experience the world hands-on, in Science, Business, Art and Geography; there is a chance for every academic discipline at Buckswood to use the project as a resource.”
uwww.buckswood.co.uk
York schools “check out” bug hotels for ‘Empty Classroom Day” “The kits have been a huge success. We made sure they could be
Timber construction specialists The Stable Company teamed up with pupils at 20 schools across York to celebrate Empty Classroom Day by getting outside to build bug hotels. As part of the annual national
initiative, which aims to encourage increased learning outside of the classroom, The Stable Company offered schools in the area a free kit which comprised a self-assembly hotel and all the extras required to attract some creepy crawly guests! One of the participating
schools was Sand Hutton C of E Primary School. The school has now built their hotel to celebrate Empty Classroom Day and tie in with their own Eco Week. Class teacher Miss Bellfield said: “The children at Sand Hutton were very excited about receiving and making the Bug Hotel. As a school that enjoys using our outside classroom and wildlife area it provides another resource for learning whilst providing a home for bugs. It coincided with our Eco Week where children created the most amazing models from recyclable materials to encourage an awareness of the impact people have on the natural world - for good or for bad.” Gareth Barber, MD of the Stable Company said: “We are
passionate about spaces which encourage learning in diverse, exciting spaces and so we sought out a way to deliver a fun project to local schools.
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www.education-today.co.uk July 2015
built without tools, so pupils could really take ownership of the build and then benefit from the ongoing experience of monitoring who, or what moves in!” The Stable Company provides bespoke timber framed buildings
for a multitude of uses, offering a complete design and build service which takes projects from planning through to interior fit- out and finish.
uwww.thestablecompany.com
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