W
e have a lot to learn from bees, not least how to work together to produce something for the
greater good. Ashbrow School, on the outskirts of Huddersfi eld, has taken that lesson to heart. With around a third of its children eligible for pupil premium funding, and with no PTA, the school has long demonstrated a ‘can do’ attitude to making a difference to its pupils’ lives. Twelve years ago, headteacher Dora
Plant sent three staff on a beekeeping course. This led to a meeting with beekeeper Yvonne Kilvington, who subsequently began working as an outdoor learning assistant at Ashbrow. The school began to take beekeeping to heart, partnering with a range of organisations to build a wealth of goodwill around what is now a nine-colony apiary. Today, the pupils, and also their
parents and grandparents, share a sense of pride and ownership in the project, which featured on the BBC’s Gardeners’ World last summer. As with many groundbreaking
school initiatives, the children were inspired by an assembly. Yvonne was keen to educate pupils about the important ecological role bees play
in the natural environment – and her talk captivated the children. Keen to capitalise on their enthusiasm, Yvonne worked with Dora Plant to explore how to make bees part of Ashbrow’s Cornerstones Curriculum and Forest School status. ‘We saw beekeeping as a practical opportunity to enhance our curriculum, providing pupils with outdoor learning experiences about the lifecycle of bees, and their crucial importance in the pollination of crops and fl owers,’ says Yvonne. ‘We also wanted to create a family project, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing.’ Yvonne was able to establish the
fi rst hive with donations of £250 from the school fund and £200 from the
Huddersfi eld Beekeeping Association. Local beekeepers were also keen to help young people learn more about bees, and donated gloves, suits and hives, while two beekeeping equipment suppliers, Thorne and Sheriff, gave discounts on kit. ‘We let the grass grow in our school garden so we could create a wildfl ower meadow, and local garden centres donated end-of-season seed packets and plants,’ says Yvonne. ‘The project has generated a lot of community goodwill, with parents and grandparents volunteering to help in the garden, and activities have expanded into keeping rescue hens and ducks.’ The school furthered its environmental initiatives by
Above left and middle: pupils at Ashbrow School tend to their bees. Top right: produce from the school garden
Building a buzz around bees
You don’t have to be in a wealthy area or have a PTA to make your school a hive of local activity. Jane Hughes reports on how one West Yorkshire primary school created a honeycomb of partnerships around beekeeping
30 SUMMER 2020 FundEd
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