A primary school with a taste for nature has held a Festival of Food – as Hampshire producers were invited in to teach children about harvest and seasonality.

A total of 434 children at Wicor Primary School have been revelling in the world of food and nature during their annual festival on September 21 for the whole school.

The school, which has a large focus on horticulture and nature, invited a number of producers including Lyburn Cheese, New Forest Fruits, Naked Jam, Hill Farm Juice and Garson’s.

The day saw each year group get involved in activities including jam making, making apple juice and cooking apple turnovers.

Wicor Primary School are holding a food festival as part of the British Food Fortnight on Wednesday 21st September 2022
Pictured: Pupils from year 1 to year 6 getting into all sorts of activities from apple pressing to bee keeping. — Wicor Primary School are holding a food festival as part of the British Food Fortnight on Wednesday 21st September 2022 Pictured: Pupils from year 1 to year 6 getting into all sorts of activities from apple pressing to bee keeping.

placeholder image — Wicor Primary School are holding a food festival as part of the British Food Fortnight on Wednesday 21st September 2022 Pictured: Pupils from year 1 to year 6 getting into all sorts of activities from apple pressing to bee keeping.

Liz French, a Year 6 teacher who helped organise the day, said: ‘It is about the children learning about where food has come from and the seasonality, obviously this is a really important time of year with harvest.

‘It is about getting real people who work in the industry so we have got people with experience talking to the children.’

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Part of the school’s curriculum looks at the importance of getting children outdoors and connecting them to nature and their annual food festival gave every child the opportunity to get busy outside and even saw groups of youngsters tend to the bees at their on-site beehives.

Wicor Primary School, Potchester are holding a food festival as part of the British Food Fortnight on Wednesday 21st September 2022
Pictured: Year 3 pupils making Rhubarb oat slices — Wicor Primary School, Potchester are holding a food festival as part of the British Food Fortnight on Wednesday 21st September 2022 Pictured: Year 3 pupils making Rhubarb oat slices

Alicia Dafiaga, seven, said: ‘My favourite thing to do today has been the cooking when you cook you use your hands get dirty and you get to make a mess which makes it more fun.’

The school relies heavily on grants and funding to ensure that their students have access to the outdoor facilities that they possess and they have started making money to put back into the school by selling their own apple juice which is made by My Apple Juice.

Headteacher Mark Wildman said: ‘It is always a bit of a miracle because it takes all year to organise and when it comes together, it feels like the missing jigsaw piece.

‘We have been running this for seven years and some people have come back for the seventh time around which is really nice for us and the students.’

The school have also partnered up with Asda to help disadvantaged families cook healthy meals while saving money.