A week on the farm!

October 3, 2012 in Front page news by Miss M NORRIS

In the third week of the summer holiday 3 members of staff and 1 Post-16 mentor accompanied 12 students to Jamie’s Farm in Wiltshire for a 5 day residency. Jamie’s Farm is a charity run organisation situated in Wiltshire and exists to provide a unique combination of ‘farming, family and therapy’ through a short stay residential and follow up programme. The farm has worked with the RSA Academy for a number of years now with the aim to re-engage children with educational life, enabling them to fulfil their potential both in school and the wider social setting.

During their stay the students embarked on a ‘life swap’ experience, leaving behind mobile phones, laptops and hair straighteners in exchange for wellies, waterproofs and shovels! The students managed to get involved in a whole host of activities and life transforming opportunities such as cooking and baking, feeding and mucking out pigs, chickens and baby calves, collecting freshly laid eggs, horse whispering, carpentry, flower arranging, gardening, log chopping, quad biking and also ending each day with a 3 mile walk through the stunning countryside.

All of the students made wonderful positive contributions to the farm and the members of staff were very complimentary about every students, with Jamie’s sister stating that it was the ” best group of students I have ever worked with!”. All students have so many special memories to take away with them and can use some of the strategies that they have discovered and employed at the farm in their everyday lives at the Academy and at home.