“It provides a happy place where you can be yourself. Animals won’t judge.” Photography by Phil NobleReporting by Phil Noble and Andy BruceReutersDecember 21, 2023 Excerpt: The rural life of rearing rare breed sheep and nurturing alpacas is a...
Student Corey Gibson, 13, poses with one of the school’s North Ronaldsay rams, called Kevin, on the farm at Woodchurch High School near Birkenhead, Britain, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Phil Noble
“It provides a happy place where you can be yourself. Animals won’t judge.”
Photography by Phil Noble
Reporting by Phil Noble and Andy Bruce
Reuters
December 21, 2023
Excerpt:
The rural life of rearing rare breed sheep and nurturing alpacas is a world away for many urban teenagers. Yet a British school near Liverpool has opened its pupils to a wealth of jobs in agriculture and the benefits of nature with its own farm.
The Woodchurch High School farm opened 13 years ago, becoming a haven that nurtures the mental health and confidence of its students.
Based in the town of Birkenhead, which faces Liverpool across the River Mersey, the school counts dairy farmers and veterinarians among its former students who say the school’s farm is the reason they found their calling in life.
Woodchurch itself ranks in the top 10% of local areas in England for income deprivation. Last month local authorities announced that the nearby leisure centre would be demolished.
And with UK social mobility at its lowest ebb in over 50 years, restricting people from moving to a higher income level, the farm’s ability to expose its students to people and professions far removed from the school’s urban trappings is more important than ever.
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