Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56‘Can I play with this stick?’ A nusery-aged child holds it aloft. ‘Is it longer than your arm?’ replies the teacher. ‘No? Well then, that’s OK, isn’t it?’ We are in the woodland classroom looking for bugs and beetles. They are under stones and dead wood, and the children are examining their habitats with enormous interest. The grounds of the castle, an enormous extended playground, are also one of Hatherop’s most valuable teaching resources. The staff are careful not to make this feel like a formal lesson, and yet there is a great deal of learning going on. As they grow older, the children will head beyond the Castle’s boundaries for their outdoor learning, a carefully structured part of their education. Afternoons spent inspecting bug houses will develop into river dipping expeditions, survival training, camping trips, until they are taking part in really impressive outdoor challenges. Lessons are learned all along the way, on the natural world, on physics, on safety and danger. There is definitely a hackneyed metaphor struggling to get out here. Something about boys and girls testing their wings, going a little further each time, until they find themselves striding up Mount Snowdon or paddling 70km down the River Wye. However you look at it, these are experiences that will inform the children’s futures and their expectations of themselves. The great outdoors