Pease Pottage school pupils put their DIY skills to the test

Atelier 21 Future School pupils from the age of four years, went off timetable recently for a week dedicated to Design Technology.

Every week the children take part in a ‘Wild Friday’ when they take their learning outdoors to the school’s private area of forest.

As a challenge the whole school were asked to work together collaboratively to create a wooden outdoor classroom, with a shelter, table and chairs, waterproof storage and a rain collection system for hand washing.

The children had a fantastic time and it gave them the opportunity to plan and see a project through to its completion from the design stage, to making a prototype and learning practical hands-on skills to create the base camp in real life.

Everyone got involved with Reception doing woodwork to make clothes pegs and also some wind chimes and decorations and Class 1 and 2 working on the wood Atelier shelter and water storage system.

During lockdown the children initially had a competition to come up with ideas for the base camp.

The winners - Charlie from Reception, Seth, Jacob, Lottie, Kitty, Nick and Hannah - will now have the opportunity to visit the school’s nursery forest school at Little Barn Owls in Horsham, to magpie ideas for Atelier 21’s camp.

Hayley Peacock, headteacher at Atelier 21, said: “At Atelier 21 we are passionate about creativity, entrepreneurship and personal growth to help young people compete and thrive in the uncertain and fast changing future they will find themselves in.

"The school re-imagines the school day to foster innovation, curiosity and creativity.

“We run academic workshops and cross curricular project-based learning for real world experience and some self-directed studies on research projects that the pupils design themselves.

"The DT week teaches children many skills outside of the National Curriculum as well as how to work as a cohesive team, think practically and develop hands-on skills to bring their ideas and designs to life.”