I would like to thank all the students and staff for working so hard to develop our outstanding Outdoor Education Area at BMS. Behind the smart picket fence a whole host of different activities have been taking place. Each activity is strongly linked to an existing area of the curriculum, whether that be PSHE, science, design and technology, food technology, English or maths. The activities range from furniture-making, planting and sowing, cooking, designing and building, garden maintenance and even creating a pond area and associated ecosystem.

I was particularly impressed with the developments in the Ed Shed, with the student design and built bespoke shelving units and desk area, as well as a standalone shoulder-high storage cupboard (and all made from recycled materials!). The Ed Shed was also very tidy and well organised – everything had its place for ease of use.

Other projects that have taken shape include the building of a greenhouse polytunnel (now growing some splendid tomato plants) hanging baskets and the start of building an outdoor shelter with posts and roofing materials ready to be post-creted in and used to create a canopy.

The life skills, self esteem, teamwork and confidence that this area of our curriculum is inculcating in so many of our students is tangible.

A massive thank you to the staff and students involved. We look forward to further developments and seeing many of our students gaining some QCA recognised industry standard qualifications from their practical work and real-life learning.