A SCHOOL has built an outdoor classroom to teach children about the environment and the importance of keeping active.


St Mary’s Primary School in Tetbury has constructed a hut with a roof and open sides and an outdoor seating area.


Children will use the area for an hour a week, keeping active and learning about nature by making dens, finding insects and carrying out problem solving exercises.


Head teacher Jo Woolley said: “We’ve been really keen to develop outdoor learning. We’re so lucky to have this outdoor space and it’s really important for children to get out of the classroom and learn to enjoy being outside.


“These are country children – they should be outside leaning about the countryside.”


Funding for the £6,000 project came from the Feoffees of Tetbury, the Tetbury Lions, Malcolm and Liz Philby, the parents and teachers association, and Active Together, a grant scheme run by Gloucestershire County Council.


Lance Vick, chairman of Feoffees – a group of philanthropists – cut the ribbon, and he said: “Following the publication of the recent Ofsted report, the Feoffees felt that the hard work and dedication put in by all the school staff and pupils in achieving this excellent rating deserved recognition and reward.”


St Mary’s also has an area where children grow vegetables and there are plans to introduce chickens, which students want to name after teachers. Community groups will use the area too.