This week I had the absolute pleasure of accompanying some of our Year 7 & 8 students, along with some Sixth Form star helpers to East Shallowford Farm on Dartmoor. The students were exemplary in demonstrating our College values of Ambition, Endeavour and Respect. The residential was funded by UK youth and gave students opportunity to work with a variety of animals, enhance their teamwork skills, and develop relationships within our whole school community.
The ethos of East Shallowford Farm is 'animals first' which meant the days started with cleaning and feeding the animals before the students' own breakfast and then the same again at the end of the day before the students had dinner (the food provided for us all in the dining room was fantastic and we all ate very well).
The first time the group had to clean out the pigs they were given clear instructions with each individual being empowered to take the lead on specific task. By the end of the residential students worked as a well rehearsed team, undertaking the task with hardly any adult direction: it was a pleasure to observe.
We were also able to walk to a neighbouring cattle farm to help with feeding cows, learn about the processes and structure of a Dartmoor Hill Farm and how these processes support the wider ecosystems. Together with a range of other activities at Shallowford, local walks and feeding the farm's hill ponies we also undertook some bushcraft activities including fire lighting and charcoal making.
It was a wonderful experience and I would particularly like to thank Miss Cooper for organising it and our Sixth Form students who were absolute stars in the way they supported their younger peers.
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