Newsletter

Schools

Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association

Autumn/Winter 2015

Schools Newsletter 1

A look back at... Royal Norfolk Show 2015

This year’s Royal Norfolk Show provided a unique opportunity for more than 8,500 school children to enjoy the county’s biggest outdoor classroom. A new strategy, simplifying the booking process and removing cost barriers encouraged more schools to attend the Show since 2011. The exciting new experiences, incorporating links to some key stages of the national curriculum, made it fun for the children.

Highlights included the Discovery Zone, developed in partnership with Norfolk County Council. This space incorporated technology, science and agricultural exhibits. The Genome Analysis Centre’s pea genetics display proved popular, the Happy Egg Company’s bus, and electric cars from BMW, provided schools with the chance to get interactive while they learnt.

Eight Norwich schools that had taken part in the RNAA supported SAW Trust and FACE project ‘Lunch Box Science’ displayed their work, and the Grow Your Own Potatoes competition was officially ‘weighed in’ during the Show. The winner was Warren School, Oulton Broad, weighing in a huge crop at 1,860 grams. In the new ‘Talk Tent’ – an innovative, creative performance space – inspirational guest speakers including scientists, poets, farmers and business leaders entertained school groups.

Over 200 loaves of soda bread and hand-shaken butter were made by school children at the RNAA’s Over the Farmer’s Hedge exhibit. As well as watching the traditional method of milking cows, pupils were able to learn about new milk production methods at the Easton and Otley College stand.

Among the various livestock marquees, visitors discovered Mr Mawkin’s Farm where there was an abundance of animals including cattle and horses, goats, rare breed turkeys and ducks for all to learn about.

School trails were as popular as ever, with many children taking part in the beekeeping, livestock and habitat trails.

For the third year, the Careers Trail proved a success, offering 250 secondary pupils the chance to meet potential employers.

While expanding the understanding of food, farming and the countryside is central to the Royal Norfolk Show, it also provides a unique opportunity for young people to think about careers in the agricultural and related industries.

NORFOLK’S BIGGEST OUTDOOR CLASSROOM

8,500 students enjoyed this year’s Show

Interested in bringing a school group to the 2016 Royal Norfolk Show? Please find further details included within this newsletter about how to apply for tickets or visit www.rnaa.org.uk

Pig Racing in the Countryside Area

RNAA Art Competition, Year 7 & 8 category

Winner - Kiah, with Rob Hughes from The Clan Trust

Schools Newsletter 2New Farrier Competitions

Cow milking at the Over the Farmers’ Hedge exhibition

Tour Guides for schools

The Energy Rescuers at the Talk Tent

School meeting point

Wall climbing in the sports area

Royal Norfolk Show 2015 Photo Album

For 2016 the RNAA is once again offering school groups free admission for all school children and teachers/adult

helpers within the allowable ratios to visit the Royal Norfolk Show.

Schools must pre-order tickets by 31 May, for tickets to be received in time. School group tickets will not be available for purchase on Show days.

The RNAA is planning an exciting line-up of educational activity at the Royal Norfolk Show in 2016. We are dedicated to ensuring schools take away as much as possible from their educational visit to the county show.

Trails for schools will be available and are being designed to make sure that they tie in with relevant schemes of work for all key stages. These trails can be used to provide a framework for pupils to explore and enjoy the Show while acquiring knowledge and understanding, experiencing the wealth of educational stimuli present at the Show: from livestock and farming machinery, to trade stands and businesses, there is an extraordinary range of exhibits from which young people can learn.

At primary level, the trails focus on livestock, machinery crops, while secondary trails offer fieldwork opportunities in subjects such as biology and geography.

Also for secondary level, there is a Careers Trail hosted at the Royal Norfolk Show, available for Key Stages 3 and 4. This trail, in conjunction with Norfolk County Council, Easton and Otley College and the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, will aim to educate young people about the nature of careers and progression routes into the land-based industry. Teachers will be able to opt to lead students to specific exhibits to meet industry professionals, who will provide invaluable industry insights from their own personal experiences throughout their career journies. To take part in the Careers Trail, schools must sign-up in advance of the Show to receive the relevant information to study prior to the day.

For details or to book any of the above, please visit www.rnaa.org.uk or contact Education Co-ordinator Sam on 01603 731974 / Samantha.joyce@rnaa.org.uk

RNS SCHOOL GROUP TICKETS

School child FREE

Teachers/helpers within allowable ratios - FREE

Additional adult helpers £10 per head

School vehicle parking FREE

Art and Creative Writing Competitions Entry forms now available

These competitions are intended to give children the opportunity to study their local environment and write a poem / short story, or produce a piece of art which reflects the countryside, food or farming. With the art competition, students also have the option of studying the work of a professional artist.

The Art Competition is open to students in Reception Year to Year 10 and the Creative Writing Competition is open to Years 1 to 9.

Winning entries will be displayed in the Schools Exhibitions Marquee, within the Discovery Zone at the Royal Norfolk Show 2016 on 29 & 30 June, during which the prize giving to school and student winners will take place.

The Creative Writing Competition winners will also be offered the chance to read their winning stories and poems to an audience at the Royal Norfolk Show.

Closing date for entries is Friday 29 April 2016

The competition is open to Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire Schools.

If you would like competition entry forms please visit our website www.royalnorfolkshow.org.uk or contact Sam at Samantha.Joyce@rnaa.org.uk / 01603 731974

29 & 30 JUNE 2016School tickets available now!

None of the educational elements at the 2015 Show would have been possible without the generous support of the following sponsors

THE

MORLEYAGRICULTURAL FOUNDATION

G W Daniels & Son

Norfolk Skills and Careers Festival9 & 10 March 2016

Dates for your diary

A new one-stop shop careers and skills festival, bringing together the county’s businesses with its young people.

Bring your students to see over 50 exhibitors across a full range of career options at the Norfolk Showground. For ages 14 - 25, both for school parties as part of OFSTED’s IAG guidance and as a provider of independent advice.

Interested? Visit www.rnaa.org.uk for information about how to register.

15 March & 29/30 June 2016

The Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) challenge, organised by AHDB Potatoes, is a hands-on experience, which teaches primary school children how potatoes grow and how they fit into a healthy, balanced diet. GYOP is linked to the National Curriculum, with over two million primary school children having benefitted over the past 11 years.

As part of this national schools initiative, the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Assocaition stages a regional event of the challenge at the Norfolk Showground. The first part of this event will be on 15th March, with the second part taking place at the Royal Norfolk Show in June.

Registration for this year closes Friday 29th January 2016. If your school is interested in taking part, you can register at www.gyop.potato.org.uk and you will be contacted by the AHDB Potatoes team with further details about how to apply for the Norfolk Showground Potato Days.

5 April 2016

The Norfolk Spring Fling is a fun and educational day for children aged 4 - 11 years, at the Norfolk Showground. Come along to learn more about Food, Farming and the Countryside. There’s lots to see and do, with over 70 interactive stands, a range of animals and our popular tractor rides.Visit www.springfling.rnaa.org.uk for further details. Tickets will be available on-line in January.

29 & 30 June 2016

Countryside ClassroomConnecting schools with food, farming

and the natural environment

The RNAA have become a partner of Countryside Classroom, a website which brings together the work of organisations and individuals who are committed to ensuring that children learn about and experience food, farming and the natural environment.

Countryside Classroom is a free to access online portal that pulls together resources to use in the classroom, places to visit with a class and people to ask for expert advice and support from across the UK, covering the topics of food, farming and the natural environment. We are delighted that resources from Food – a fact of life feature on this new portal.

To explore Countryside Classroom, visitwww.countrysideclassroom.org.uk

Agri-Tech Taster Sessionsfor Year 12’s

As part of an introduction to Agri-Tech, in September the RNAA held a 2 day pilot event aimed at helping Year 12 students to make informed decisions about relevant university destinations and courses.

The sessions took place at the Easton and Otley College and the John Innes Centre and TGAC at the Norwich Rearch Park, where students were given access to the region’s world-leading researchers and facilities and learnt cutting edge information about research and business opportunities in the agri-tech sector.

The two days focused on the theme of ‘wheat’. Students were encouraged to get hands-on; at Easton and Otley College they learnt about precision farming, advances in technology and even had a go at becoming grain merchants themselves, while at the John Innes Centre they entered the laboratories to have a go at microscopic testing and attended lectures led by Brande Wulff on wheat diseases and Burkhard Steuernagel who introduced Bioinformatics ‘mutant hunter’.

The success of this pilot event will be continued on in 2016 - details to follow. If you have any students that would like to be involved, please get in touch and look out for further details on the RNAA website.

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